BJP govt at Centre a control freak, says Singhvi Cong leaders opposed to Baljeet Yadav joining party
POLL READY Sachin Pilot and Abhishek Manu Singhvi say that “dictatorial government will be ousted” in this assembly election; promise sops to lawyers
The BJP-led government at the Centre is a control freak and an atmosphere of fear is prevailing in the country which was never seen before, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Sunday.
“If any organisation publishes articles against the government, advertisements to them are stopped. This government is even sending direct messages to judiciary,” Singhvi alleged.
“People have made up their mind, now the eviction decree needs to be get executed,” he said, addressing a state-level ‘Vidhik Vimarsh’ (legal discussion), a convention organised by the Rajasthan Congress’s legal human rights and RTI department at Birla Auditorium here.
He suggested that community libraries be built at district and tehsil levels for lawyers and law books be provided online.
“Lawyer chambers will be built through MPLAD funds, and advocates will get insurance after the Congress forms government.”
Addressing the advocates, department’s national president Vivek Tankha, also a member of parliament, said there are now two ideologies in the country – of Narendra Modi and the RSS, and of the Congress, which is “democratic and protecting the country.”
“Congress’s disadvantage was that advocates made a distance
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with the party. Our party was leading till advocates were with us since freedom.”
“Gradually advocates distanced themselves due to their own issues and the party sidetracking from the values and principles, which were espoused by the advocates,” Tankha said.
“But now advocates have to come to the front to save democracy. Today it’s not about Congress but of the country.”
Tankha demanded that an act for protection of advocates and journalists be brought in after the Congress forms government in the state.
“In addition, the party manifesto should have something for the young advocates.”
‘Residential colonies for lawyers’
State Congress president Sachin Pilot promised residential colonies for lawyers through cooperatives, advocates and journalists’ protection act, and POCSO court in every district.
“We will bring all this in our manifesto along with improvement in judicial infrastructure and efforts to fast-track cases related to girls and women,” Pilot said, addressing the lawyers at the convention.
He said the atmosphere of insecurity and fear the country is facing was not there before. “Four judges of the Supreme Court are calling a press conference, journalists are threatened and people are afraid to express their feelings,” he said.
“We have to think how are we going to reply and who are responsible? There are such people in government who want to fulfil their wish at any cost, by sidelining all norms, and the constitution.”
Only four months are left for elections in the state, Pilot said. “I assure that this dictatorial government will be ousted.”
Entry of Baljeet Yadav, a local politician from Behror in Alwar, in Congress has set the cat among the pigeons as several party leaders, including Alwar MP Dr Karan Singh Yadav, are opposing it.
Baljeet Yadav, who fought the 2013 Assembly election as an Independent candidate and was the runner-up with 36,000 votes, is popular among the youth in Behror. He joined the Congress on July 8 in Nagar (Bharatpur).
When Karan Singh Yadav learnt about his entry, he expressed his opposition and told Jitendra Singh, former union minister and Alwar MP, that the move will adversely affect the party. Yadav said if required, he will take the issue to party president Rahul Gandhi.
“He (Jitendra Singh) takes undue advantage of his closeness to Rahul Gandhi,” Karan Singh Yadav said.
Jitendra Singh said that the decision to induct Baljeet Yadav was taken during the Alwar Lok Sabha by-elections in February. Karan Singh Yadav was on board with the decision but now he is taking a U-turn succumbing to local pressure, Singh added.
Karan Singh Yadav, on the other hand, denied agreeing to the decision at any time. “I protested the decision during the
ALWAR: JITENDRA SINGH SAID THAT THE DECISION TO INDUCT BALJEET YADAV WAS TAKEN DURING THE ALWAR LOK SABHA BY POLLS
bypoll also and said his inclusion to the party can damage our chances of winning the by-election,” he said. Karan Singh Yadav said he has spoken to AICC general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pandey and state PCC president Sachin Pilot about Baljeet Yadav’s entry.
District Congress president Tikaram Jully said the decision to include Baljeet Yadav into the party was of the high commands. Jully said the inclusion was with the nod of AICC state secretary Devendra Yadav. However, Devendra Yadav denied this, saying the AICC has nothing to do with such decisions.
“It is a decision made by the DCC,” he added.
It is surprising that no one in Alwar Congress is ready to take credit for Baljeet’s entry to the party even as anti-Jitendra Singh lobby is united against the decision.
Meanwhile, Baljeet said local Congress leaders were insecure because of his performance in last assembly election, making him the obvious choice for ticket from Behror.