The controversy over Tavleen Singh claiming that PMO recordsdata had been despatched to Sonia Gandhi
Journalist Tavleen Singh had angered the Congress leaders three days in the past by claiming that former PM Dr Manmohan Singh had violated the Official Secrets Act by sending confidential authorities recordsdata to Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in the course of the UPA regime. In a dialogue of the Gandhi household distant controlling the get together on India Today channel within the aftermath of Mallikarjun Kharge’s election because the Congress president, Singh had made the remarks.
While Tavleen Singh had stated that she’s going to present proof of her declare, now she has backtracked from her declare. Following huge criticism and trolling by Congress leaders and employees, and calls for to furnish proof of the declare, the veteran journalist has now conceded that she has no proof that Dr. Singh had violated the Official Secrets Act.
When Tavleen Singh had made the claims on the present hosted by Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today TV, Congress chief Praveen Chakravarti, who was additionally on the panel, had objected to this declare, and demanded proof. Soon after that, a number of different Congress leaders like P Chidambaram, Pawan Khera and others got here ahead to criticise the journalist and demanded proof that Dr. Singh violated the regulation.
The Congress get together leaders adopted this up by sending letters to Tavleen Singh demanding the promised proofs, and threatening authorized motion. Praveen Chakravarty, chairman of the Data Analytics cell of the Congress get together, wrote to her demanding the proof, and an apology if she fails to supply the proof. He additionally stated that the get together will proceed with authorized motion if she doesn’t include both proof or apology.
As a observe up, this letter was despatched to @tavleen_singh as we speak asking for the promised proof of her cost of violation of the Official Secrets Act by former PM Dr.Manmohan Singh throughout his tenure.
. https://t.co/xmWIBGkbpo pic.twitter.com/w1jVwvTpEL
— Praveen Chakravarty (@pravchak) October 21, 2022
Responding to this rising demand, Tavleen Singh stated that Sanjaya Baru in his e book talked about the title of the one that carried recordsdata between PMO and Sonia Gandhi’s residence. She additionally stated, “Jayanthi Natarajan in a letter to Sonia Gandhi reminded her of her having stopped certain projects”.
Sanjay Baru mentions the title of the go between official in his e book. Jayanthi Natarajan in a letter to Sonia Gandhi reminded her of her having stopped sure initiatives. I’ve the deepest respect for Dr. Manmohan Singh and stated nothing towards him. https://t.co/cjdAWPROkI
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) October 21, 2022
While Tavleen Singh didn’t title the e book, it was evident that she was speaking concerning the e book titled The Accidental Prime Minister, The Making And Unmaking Of Manmohan Singh, authored by Sanjaya Baru, who was the media advisor of PM Manmohan Singh.
In one other tweet responding to P Chidambaram, she once more stated that “people who worked in the PMO have named officials who carried government files to 10 Janpath”, and that former ministers admit taking orders from Sonia Gandhi. “She was de facto PM then and will remain de facto Congress President now,” she stated.
People who labored within the PMO have named officers who carried authorities recordsdata to 10 Janpath. Former ministers admit taking orders from Sonia Gandhi. She was de facto PM then and can stay de facto Congress President now. https://t.co/lxyG3attgo
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) October 20, 2022
However, Tavleen Singh confronted a setback as Sanjaya Baru denied making any such claims in his e book. When a Twitter person tagged Sanjaya Baru responding to Tavleen Singh’s ‘evidence’, saying that Baru would be the proper particular person to reply/make clear this, Baru responded. As Baru’s Twitter account is protected, the Twitter person named Shiva posted the screenshot of the reply, the place Sanjaya Baru categorically denied the claims of Tavleen Singh.
I feel this settles it, Tavleen ought to both give proof or apologize and retract her assertion. @PChidambaram_IN @sardesairajdeep pic.twitter.com/LuVcZKhhIn
— Shiva (@ssr99) October 20, 2022
“My book does not say PM breached Official Secrets Act. So Chidambaram is right to demand proof,” Baru wrote, inflicting an enormous setback to Tavleen Singh. Therefore, when Praveen Chakravarty confronted her with Baru’s tweet, she was pressured to concede that she doesn’t have proof for her claims.
OK. If Sanjay Baru says that his e book doesn’t point out a violation of the Official Secrets Act I’m blissful to confess that I used to be improper about that. https://t.co/j8UMYEVnOj
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) October 21, 2022
“OK. If Sanjay Baru says that his book doesn’t mention a violation of the Official Secrets Act I am happy to admit that I was wrong about that,” Tavleen Singh tweeted responding to the Congress chief’s tweet. While she had not tendered an apology as demanded by Congress leaders, she conceded that she made improper claims about confidential recordsdata being despatched to Sonia Gandhi from PMO.
However, later she clarified she admitted her mistake on the declare of violation of the Official Secrets Act, and never on the switch of recordsdata itself. “No. I admitted that the files sent to Sonia Gandhi from the PMO may not have been those that violated the Official Secrets Act,” she stated responding to a tweet saying that she confessed that she was mendacity.
No. I admitted that the recordsdata despatched to Sonia Gandhi from the PMO could not have been people who violated the Official Secrets Act. https://t.co/vcCgEZnJcV
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) October 21, 2022
Therefore, Tavleen Singh maintains her place that recordsdata had been despatched from PMO and different ministries to Sonia Gandhi in the course of the UPA govt, however she will’t say if it violated the Official Secrets Act.
Now coming to Sanjaya Baru’s e book, it’s a indisputable fact that he has been sustaining that he didn’t immediately write that authorities recordsdata had been carried to Sonia Gandhi, and positively he didn’t write that the previous PM violated the secrecy regulation. However, his e book did speak about a PMO official having virtually every day conferences with Sonia Gandhi, and in search of her directions on vital recordsdata cleared by the PM.
“Pulok, who was inducted into the Manmohan Singh PMO at the behest of Sonia Gandhi, had regular, almost daily, meetings with Sonia at which he was said to brief her on the key policy issues of the day and seek her instructions on important files to be cleared by the PM,” Baru wrote in Accidental Prime Minister, speaking about IAS officer Pulok Chatterjee.
From the e book The Accidental Prime Minister
He additional wrote, “Pulok was the single most important point of regular contact between the PM and Sonia. He was also the PMO’s main point of contact with the National Advisory Council (NAC), a high-profile advisory body chaired by Sonia Gandhi, with social activists as members. It was sometimes dubbed the Shadow Cabinet.”
Therefore, whereas it’s true that Baru by no means claimed that Dr Singh violated the Official Secrets Act, he did give sufficient hints that Pulok Chatterjee did carry recordsdata to Sonia Gandhi. Or even when he didn’t carry the precise recordsdata, he did convey data contained in them to Sonia Gandhi, to get her directions on the issues.
Therefore, whereas Congress leaders could also be celebrating that Tavleen Singh has backtracked and Sanjaya Baru has denied her claims, truly none of them have denied that official recordsdata had been despatched to Sonia Gandhi. Only factor they’ve conceded is that it might’t be claimed that Manmohan Singh violated the Official Secrets Act.
And that’s comprehensible, as whereas it was recognized that Pulok Chatterjee was carrying recordsdata or their contents to Sonia Gandhi, it might’t be ascertained in the event that they contained something that violated the regulation.
Sanjaya Baru shouldn’t be the one particular person to say that Chatterjee used to hold PMO recordsdata to 10 Janpath. Veteran Congress chief Natwar Singh had additionally made the identical declare in his e book One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography.
