Press Briefing Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Dr. Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media today.
Dr. Abhishek Singhvi said that we have received
the peoples’ verdict in the recently concluded
Assembly and one Parliamentary election with
gratitude and with humility. We see them in a
spirit of their confidence in us, of the
confidence of the masses in us and of our
connectivity with them but equally as an
opportunity to improve, to reform all the time.
It reinforces our belief that the Congress party
remains the only Pan Indian movement not merely
as political party but a Pan Indian movement.
Kerala and West Bengal have been sweeps for the
Congress party and the Congress coalition. For
those in power for sometime in those regions,
the writing on the wall is clear. If they choose
not to read it is their misfortune. They can at
best only slightly delay the inevitable but the
inevitable is certain.
Dr. Singhvi said that this is a stunning
punishing verdict in those two States for
misgovernance, for inflexibility for indulging
in the politics of blame game but not in the
politics of delivery. Nothing can stop the march
of the forces of change in those two States and
I would like to add that the Left in larger or
smaller measure has also been punished for its
clear agitational politics and its approach to
opposition for the sake of opposition. It has
also been punished for the clearly negative
collusive role it played in the recently
concluded General elections in which the Left
displayed its great propensity for opportunistic
and unholy alliances. The politics of sabotage
and the politics of dividing clearly and
knowingly the secular vote. Assam is similarly a
clean sweep but we have both gratitude mixed
with humility. The people there realized that
despite the problems of North Eastern Border
States, those who are in power are trying their
best. There have been honorable splitting of
results in both Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan
but the numbers are very small as far as these
elections go and in Uttar Pradesh we bowed down
to the fact, recognized the fact and accept the
fact that we have to do more and ever more but
this cannot detract from a spectacular victory
in Ferozabad. It cannot and should not detract
from the Assembly victory in addition to
Ferozabad and in at least two we have had
honorable runner-up status. These are the areas
and the constituencies where the congress flag
has not flown for years perhaps decades.
Ferozabad and Kannauj - the outline hinterland
of these two constituencies - have been family
strongholds of the principal opponent we were
fighting. This is no ordinary victory. This is a
victory in a region where the Congress’ presence
and its foot print has been virtually forgotten
and given up for decades and ultimately whether
some elements of our opposition like it or not,
the overall picture also for the BJP is that it
does not exist in so many parts of India. Its
footprint is decreasing and vanishing even in
its areas where it has its presence. Equally and
proportionately and this is without meaning, the
visible and invisible hand of Shri Rahul Gandhi
is present everywhere. It is not only a question
of Ferozabad or campaigning in Ferozabad, Shri
Rahul Gandhi’s thinking is long term and medium
term not for this election here or that election
there.
Dr. Singhvi further said that in the ultimate
analysis, the beneficial impact of this longer
term thinking is for you to see when our cadres
are strengthened in Kerala where sterling work
at the youth congress and the NSUI level have
been going on. In ultimate analysis the
beneficial result goes to the congress party
from that backbone in West Bengal where the
cadres are still there. Shri Rahul Gandhi is not
afraid to experiment. He is not afraid to risk
because he believes that being status quoist is
a bigger risk and of course not only he but the
Congress party is first to accept with humility
that much-much more needs to be done in Uttar
Pradesh but he can assure you that that
much-much more will be done, is being done to
reach us to ever higher heights of achievement.
There is a continuity and connectivity which
shows that the Congress Party is the most
acceptable face - politically and socially - as
a movement in this country.
On the question of sitting MLA losing in West
Bengal, Dr. Singhvi said that he totally
disagrees. It is fundamentally conceptually
wrong to look at the win or loss of the
individual partners in a coalition. That is a
fundamental point. This is all part of a give
and take with which you go to the public and
therefore, you win or lose as an alliance. This
is the stand of the Trinamool and this is the
stand of the Congress party.
On the question of congress party losing even on
Virbhadra Singh’s constituency in Himachal, Dr.
Singhvi said that bye elections are not
elections of a national vote. He is talking of
the results on the merit of the results.
(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC
