“But today, the same Rahul Gandhi is embracing the convicted Lalu Prasad to form a government in Bihar. Is this not a double standard?” Shah said in an interview with ANI.
Replying to questions about Dhankhar’s sudden resignation, he said, “’Baat ka batangad nahi banana chahiye’ (Don’t make a fuss about it). Dhankhar ji was on a constitutional post and during his tenure, he did good work according to the constitution. He has resigned due to his personal health problem. One should not try to stretch the issue too much and find something.”
Pointing out that President Droupadi Murmu comes from the east and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from western part of the country, Shah justified the National Democratic Alliance’s vice-presidential nominee coming from the south and rejected the charge that it was being done ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections.
Shah said NDA nominee C.P.Radhakrishnan enjoys a “very clean and impeccable image” and targeted INDIA bloc candidate Sudershan Reddy by blaming him for disbanding the Salwa Judum and ending the right of self-defence of tribals.
“Because of this, Naxalism lasted for more than two decades in this country. At that time, Naxalism was breathing its last. The tribals formed Salwa Judum to protect themselves. The Supreme Court rejected it. After this, the schools that were destroyed due to Naxalites, CRPF and security forces were present in those schools. They threw everyone out overnight by issuing an order. There were attacks on security forces at many places. Rahul Gandhi should answer these two judgments more than Sudershan Reddy,” he said.
Shah further said that he believes “Leftist ideology must have been the criterion (for selecting Reddy as the V-P candidate)’ .
He sought an explanation from Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition for picking up Reddy who he said “sympathised with Left-wing ideology” and whose ruling had led to the “armed civilian vigilante group” being “disbanded” which prevented the extremist Left movement not ending before 2020.
The Supreme Court in 2011 invalidated the Salwa Judam, a civil defence force that continued to acquire funds from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to fight Naxals in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.
When asked to comment on reports linking the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate selection to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Shah said: “The Prime Minister has a connection with RSS, I also have a connection with RSS. Has the country chosen us because we are from RSS? Is having connection with RSS a minus point? Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani ji, Modi ji are also connected with RSS.”
The Opposition had linked Radhakrishnan’s nomination to the Tamil Nadu elections. Shah rejected the claim and said: “No, it is not like that… It is natural for the Vice Presidential candidate to come from the South because the President was from the East, the Prime Minister was from the West and the North. It should not be seen from this perspective. C.P. Radhakrishnan has had a very long political career. He has been a member of Parliament twice, the President of our party, Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana, Pondicherry, Maharashtra…”
Stressing on the fact that Dhankhar quit purely on health issues, Shah said his letter as to why he was stepping down was self-explanatory.
“Dhankhar ji has resigned citing his health and has expressed heartfelt thanks to the government ministers, the Prime Minister, and all members for their good tenure. He was holding a constitutional position and during his tenure, he performed commendable work in accordance with the Constitution. He has resigned due to his personal health problems,” the Home Minister said.
Asked to comment on the Opposition raising questions on the resignation of former vice-president Dhankhar, Shah said one should not make a fuss about it.
“‘Baat ka batangad nahi banana chahiye’ (Don’t make a fuss about it). Dhankhar ji was on a constitutional post and during his tenure, he did good work according to the constitution. He has resigned due to his personal health problem. One should not try to stretch the issue too much and find something,” he said when asked that there were reports the veteran was planning a coup.
When asked about Dhankhar being under “house arrest”, as claimed by certain opposition leaders, Shah said: “It seems like your interpretation of truth and lies is based on what the opposition has to say. We shouldn’t make a fuss out of all this. Dhankhar held a constitutional post and discharged his duties as per the Constitution. He resigned due to personal health reasons. One should not deliberate much on the issue”.
Also Read: Jagdeep Dhankhar’s abrupt exit says three things about the Modi govt
‘More CMs from NDA’
Shah once again defended the 130th Constitution Amendment Bills for the removal of the Prime Minister, chief ministers, and other ministers if arrested and detained for more than 30 consecutive days, saying that the number of NDA CMs is much more and the PM too comes from the NDA.
He stressed that the Bill will not apply only to the opposition but equally to NDA leaders as well.
The Opposition has been critical of the Bill, and many are planning to boycott the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting that has been constituted for it.
“In this country today, the number of NDA CMs is more. The PM is also from the NDA. So this Bill does not raise questions only for the opposition. This raises questions for our CMs as well… There is a provision for bail for 30 days. If it is a fake type of case, then the country’s High Court and Supreme Court are not sitting with their eyes closed,” Shah said.
“The High Court and the Supreme Court have the right to grant bail in any case. If bail is not granted, then you will have to leave the post. I want to ask the people of the country and the Opposition, can a CM, a PM or a minister run their government from jail? Is it appropriate for the democracy of the country?”
Shah said an elected government in Parliament can bring any Bill or constitutional amendment and pointed out that he had made it clear that it would be handed over to the joint committee of both the Houses.
The Union Home Minister said the provision for imprisonment was not created by the NDA and has existed for years.
“We have also made it clear regarding serious charges: if individuals facing allegations carrying over five years of punishment continue to run the government from jail, how justified is that? During the UPA government, when Manmohan Singh ji was the Prime Minister and Lalu Prasad ji was a minister, Lalu Prasad was convicted,” he said.
Shah questioned how Rahul Gandhi is “embracing” Lalu Prasad to form a government in Bihar today and termed it a “double standard”.
“The Congress party is openly opposing the 130th Amendment Bills. When the UPA was in power, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, and Lalu Prasad was a minister. Lalu Prasad was convicted. The Manmohan government had brought an ordinance. Rahul Gandhi publicly tore it up, calling it complete nonsense, and mocked the decision taken by his own party’s Prime Minister on moral grounds, leaving Manmohan Singh humiliated in front of the entire world,” he said.
“What was the justification of Rahul Gandhi for tearing the ordinance brought by Manmohan Singh to save Lalu Yadav? If there was morality that day, then is it not there today because you have lost three consecutive elections? The standards of morality are not connected with the victory or defeat of elections. The standards of morality are always stable in their place, just like the Sun and the Moon,” Shah added.
To be sure, Rahul, in a press conference, had said that the ordinance brought to shield convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification should be “torn up and thrown away”. Days later, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government withdrew the ordinance.
Responding to the Opposition’s objection to the 30-day bail period in the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bills, the Union Home Minister said, “Except for my case, no bail case went on for more than five days in the Supreme Court.”
Shah alleged that the people were being misled. “You can file an FIR through a PIL, as this does not involve a ruling or opposition divide. Secondly, the Bill provides for bail within 30 days. In false cases, neither the Supreme Court nor the High Court will keep anyone in jail.”
He further said that since Independence until now, many leaders, ministers, and chief ministers have gone to jail, and all of them have resigned before going to jail.
However, he said a new trend has started where resignation is not being given even after going to jail. “The ministers of Tamil Nadu did not resign, nor did the ministers and chief minister of Delhi.”
“Will the DGP, chief secretary, cabinet secretary, or home secretary go to jail to take orders? Will this bring respect to our democracy in the world?
“… If you are neck deep in corruption, then you will be arrested, you will have to go to jail, you will have to resign. Even then, if you get bail later, then you can take the oath again…,” he said.
Shah said PM Modi has brought a constitutional amendment against himself that if the Prime Minister goes to jail, he will have to resign. “Earlier, Indira Gandhi had brought the 39th Amendment, in which she had included the PM’s position along with the President and the Vice-President to avoid judicial review by Indian courts. Narendra Modi ji has himself brought a constitutional amendment against himself that if the Prime Minister goes to jail, he too will have to resign.”
On deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inside Parliament, Shah said: “The marshals enter the House only when the Speaker orders them. This change happened after a big incident when some Leftist people had sprayed inside Parliament…They (Opposition) need excuses and they want to create confusion among the public. After losing three elections, the level of frustration has made them lose common sense…”.
Shah further said that when he was accused, as soon as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned him he resigned the very next day after the summon in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.
“The case proceeded and the verdict came that it was a case of political vendetta and I had no involvement whatsoever in the case from anywhere, and the case was dismissed right in front of me. I had received bail in 1996 itself, but until the case against me was quashed, I did not accept any constitutional position. What morality will they (the Opposition) teach me?”
He also said several leaders including Hemant Soren, L.K.Advani had resigned on moral grounds. “Earlier also, leaders had resigned on moral grounds. Lal Krishna Advani ji had resigned, Ishwarappa ji had resigned, Yediyurappa ji had resigned, George Fernandes ji had resigned. No one ran the government from jail. Even Hemant Soren ji had resigned and only after coming out of jail did he run the government,” he said.
When asked if the 130th Constitution Amendment Bills will get passed, Shah exuded confidence and said: “There will be many people in the Congress party and in the Opposition who will support morality and maintain the moral ground.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Amit Shah defends bill to oust arrested CMs, PM—’Kejriwal was running govt from jail’
