(TheEconomicTimes)
NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's first television interview, Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday questioned, "What has Rahul Gandhi to offer to this country?" or "Is he too confused to get into the specifics and therefore goes into the generalities?"
According to Jaitley, the 'most startling statement in the interview' was, "I am absolutely against the concept of dynasty, anybody who knows me knows that and understands that." "Surely Mr. Gandhi you don't expect India to believe you on that," Jaitley mocked.
In a point-by-point rebuttal to the Gandhi scion's interview, Jaitley said that Congress Vice President has 'exposed his own inadequacies'. Here is what Jaitley had to say on the various comments that Rahul Gandhi made in his interview with Times Now.
1) No PM candidate for Congress: "The answer was clearly unconvincing. We all know that the MPs of the ruling party alone elect a leader, who is the Prime Minister. We equally know that projecting shadow Prime Ministers is neither unconstitutional nor extra-constitutional. It happens all over the world," said Jaitley.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "Democracy is about non-arbitrary decisions. Democracy is about spreading decisions; it is not about destroying processes. There is a process in the constitution and that process says, and it is clearly written in the constitution, and it says members of parliament are to be elected by the population and members of parliament are to elect the Prime Minister. All I am doing is respecting that process."
2) On changing the system and empowerment of people: What does Rahul Gandhi have in mind, asked Jaitley. "If Rahul Gandhi was a member of any other political party he would still be struggling to become a party office bearer. He needs to speak about the Congress Party needing a change and not the whole system," said Jaitley.
"We are a parliamentary democracy. That is the system best suited for India. Which is the alternative system that Rahul Gandhi has in mind. He says he believes in democracy, in opening up the system, in RTI and giving power to the people. These are his differences with Narendra Modi," he said.
"I doubt very much if these are seriously areas of difference. Everybody in Indian politics has to believe in democracy, openness and in empowering the people. Why should he give himself a self-certification that he believes in RTI and empowerment. The fact that candidates are decided by a few people may be happening in the Congress Party. In the BJP the block units and district units recommend candidates to the State units. The State Units bring them to the Central Election Committee," he added.
"It is only after extensive consultation that the candidates are decided. Even for the Prime Ministerial candidate we have gone through an informal process of galaxy of leaders being presented before the party and the people and the most suitable one is finally declared. The de facto Prime Ministerial candidate of the Congress Party is decided on the basis of the family he belongs to," he substantiated.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "What I feel is that this country needs to look at the fundamental issues at hand, the fundamental political issue at hand is that our Political system is controlled by too few people and we absolutely have to change the way our political system is structured, we have to change our Political parties, we have to make them more transparent, we have to change the processes that we use to elect candidates, we have to empower women in the political parties, that is where the meat of the issue but I don't hear that discussion, I don't hear the discussion about how are we actually choosing that candidate, that is never the discussion."
3) India a manufacturing hub: What has the UPA done in the last 10 years in this regard, the BJP leader asked. "China's core competence is low cost manufacturing. Consumers prefer to buy goods which are cheaper. To make the manufacturing sector in India competitive, the manufacturing sector needed to be incentivized in terms of a modest interest rate regime, a world class infrastructure, competitive cost of utilities particularly power, trade facilitation, a globally competitive taxation regime, quick decision making and labour regime flexibility," opined Jaitley.
"Even though the last of these is politically more challenging, has the UPA government even moved an inch with regard to the other reforms required. The answer is a clear No," said Jaitley emphatically.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "I want to put India on the manufacturing map, I want to make this the centre of manufacturing in the world. I want to make this place at least as much as a manufacturing power as China."
4) Comparison between 1984 riots & 2002 riots in Gujarat: Where did Rahul Gandhi get this idea that in 1984 there was no participation of the State, the leader mocked.
Explaining his stance, Jaitley said, "In 1984 a slogan 'Khoon ka Badla Khoon' started in the afternoon of 31st October 1984 at the AIIMS where Mrs.Gandhi's body lay. Congress leaders were seen leading the mobs. Sikhs were massacred at thousands of places. No where did the police fire a single bullet to disperse mobs. Cases were not investigated. A Commission of Inquiry was constituted which came with a sham report. The Judge heading the Commission was subsequently made a Congress Party's Member of the Rajya Sabha. Justice evades the victims even now."
"In Gujarat thousands of people were arrested. The badly over-powered police fired at several places. Almost 300 rioters were killed in police firing. Thousands of prosecutions were filed. Hundreds of people have been sentenced. The Chief Minister of the State Government personally went through several inquiries including the Supreme Court constituted SIT and no evidence was found against him," he said.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "The Gujarat riots took place, people died, Mr. Narendra Modi was in charge of Gujarat at that point," Rahul had said.
Asked about the 1984 riots, Gandhi said, "The fact of the matter is that innocent people died in 1984 and innocent people dying is a horrible thing and should not happen. The difference between Gujarat and 1984 was that the Government of Gujarat was involved in the riots."
"The difference between the 1984 riots and the riots in Gujarat was that in 1984 the Government was trying to stop the riots. In Gujarat the opposite was the case. The Government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further," Gandhi had said.
5) On Corruption: Jaitley slammed Congress for tying up with a convicted leader in Bihar. "Without Lalu Prasad Yadav there is no RJD. Rahul Gandhi has looked the other way when it comes to allegations against Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Vir Bhadra Singh. He pays lip sympathy to probity when former CM of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan is bailed out. He chooses to keep quiet on the 2G spectrum allocation and the coal blocks allocation. He believes that some legislations will resolve the menace of corruption," Jaitley said.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "As far as any corruption done, there is a legal process. And that legal process should be followed and concluded. As far as my personal view is concerned, anybody who is corrupt should be brought to book."
"Our alliance in Bihar is with a political party with an idea not an individual, we are making alliance, and it is not certain that we are going to make an alliance, we are in process of talking to people and our alliance is with an idea, with a party, not an individual."
NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's first television interview, Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday questioned, "What has Rahul Gandhi to offer to this country?" or "Is he too confused to get into the specifics and therefore goes into the generalities?"
According to Jaitley, the 'most startling statement in the interview' was, "I am absolutely against the concept of dynasty, anybody who knows me knows that and understands that." "Surely Mr. Gandhi you don't expect India to believe you on that," Jaitley mocked.
In a point-by-point rebuttal to the Gandhi scion's interview, Jaitley said that Congress Vice President has 'exposed his own inadequacies'. Here is what Jaitley had to say on the various comments that Rahul Gandhi made in his interview with Times Now.
1) No PM candidate for Congress: "The answer was clearly unconvincing. We all know that the MPs of the ruling party alone elect a leader, who is the Prime Minister. We equally know that projecting shadow Prime Ministers is neither unconstitutional nor extra-constitutional. It happens all over the world," said Jaitley.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "Democracy is about non-arbitrary decisions. Democracy is about spreading decisions; it is not about destroying processes. There is a process in the constitution and that process says, and it is clearly written in the constitution, and it says members of parliament are to be elected by the population and members of parliament are to elect the Prime Minister. All I am doing is respecting that process."
2) On changing the system and empowerment of people: What does Rahul Gandhi have in mind, asked Jaitley. "If Rahul Gandhi was a member of any other political party he would still be struggling to become a party office bearer. He needs to speak about the Congress Party needing a change and not the whole system," said Jaitley.
"We are a parliamentary democracy. That is the system best suited for India. Which is the alternative system that Rahul Gandhi has in mind. He says he believes in democracy, in opening up the system, in RTI and giving power to the people. These are his differences with Narendra Modi," he said.
"I doubt very much if these are seriously areas of difference. Everybody in Indian politics has to believe in democracy, openness and in empowering the people. Why should he give himself a self-certification that he believes in RTI and empowerment. The fact that candidates are decided by a few people may be happening in the Congress Party. In the BJP the block units and district units recommend candidates to the State units. The State Units bring them to the Central Election Committee," he added.
"It is only after extensive consultation that the candidates are decided. Even for the Prime Ministerial candidate we have gone through an informal process of galaxy of leaders being presented before the party and the people and the most suitable one is finally declared. The de facto Prime Ministerial candidate of the Congress Party is decided on the basis of the family he belongs to," he substantiated.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "What I feel is that this country needs to look at the fundamental issues at hand, the fundamental political issue at hand is that our Political system is controlled by too few people and we absolutely have to change the way our political system is structured, we have to change our Political parties, we have to make them more transparent, we have to change the processes that we use to elect candidates, we have to empower women in the political parties, that is where the meat of the issue but I don't hear that discussion, I don't hear the discussion about how are we actually choosing that candidate, that is never the discussion."
3) India a manufacturing hub: What has the UPA done in the last 10 years in this regard, the BJP leader asked. "China's core competence is low cost manufacturing. Consumers prefer to buy goods which are cheaper. To make the manufacturing sector in India competitive, the manufacturing sector needed to be incentivized in terms of a modest interest rate regime, a world class infrastructure, competitive cost of utilities particularly power, trade facilitation, a globally competitive taxation regime, quick decision making and labour regime flexibility," opined Jaitley.
"Even though the last of these is politically more challenging, has the UPA government even moved an inch with regard to the other reforms required. The answer is a clear No," said Jaitley emphatically.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "I want to put India on the manufacturing map, I want to make this the centre of manufacturing in the world. I want to make this place at least as much as a manufacturing power as China."
4) Comparison between 1984 riots & 2002 riots in Gujarat: Where did Rahul Gandhi get this idea that in 1984 there was no participation of the State, the leader mocked.
Explaining his stance, Jaitley said, "In 1984 a slogan 'Khoon ka Badla Khoon' started in the afternoon of 31st October 1984 at the AIIMS where Mrs.Gandhi's body lay. Congress leaders were seen leading the mobs. Sikhs were massacred at thousands of places. No where did the police fire a single bullet to disperse mobs. Cases were not investigated. A Commission of Inquiry was constituted which came with a sham report. The Judge heading the Commission was subsequently made a Congress Party's Member of the Rajya Sabha. Justice evades the victims even now."
"In Gujarat thousands of people were arrested. The badly over-powered police fired at several places. Almost 300 rioters were killed in police firing. Thousands of prosecutions were filed. Hundreds of people have been sentenced. The Chief Minister of the State Government personally went through several inquiries including the Supreme Court constituted SIT and no evidence was found against him," he said.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "The Gujarat riots took place, people died, Mr. Narendra Modi was in charge of Gujarat at that point," Rahul had said.
Asked about the 1984 riots, Gandhi said, "The fact of the matter is that innocent people died in 1984 and innocent people dying is a horrible thing and should not happen. The difference between Gujarat and 1984 was that the Government of Gujarat was involved in the riots."
"The difference between the 1984 riots and the riots in Gujarat was that in 1984 the Government was trying to stop the riots. In Gujarat the opposite was the case. The Government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further," Gandhi had said.
5) On Corruption: Jaitley slammed Congress for tying up with a convicted leader in Bihar. "Without Lalu Prasad Yadav there is no RJD. Rahul Gandhi has looked the other way when it comes to allegations against Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Vir Bhadra Singh. He pays lip sympathy to probity when former CM of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan is bailed out. He chooses to keep quiet on the 2G spectrum allocation and the coal blocks allocation. He believes that some legislations will resolve the menace of corruption," Jaitley said.
What Rahul Gandhi had said: "As far as any corruption done, there is a legal process. And that legal process should be followed and concluded. As far as my personal view is concerned, anybody who is corrupt should be brought to book."
"Our alliance in Bihar is with a political party with an idea not an individual, we are making alliance, and it is not certain that we are going to make an alliance, we are in process of talking to people and our alliance is with an idea, with a party, not an individual."
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