CD Row - Abhishek Manu Singhvi Quits as Congress Spokesperson
New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI): Embroiled in a CD controversy, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi today resigned as Chairman of a Parliamentary Committee and party spokesperson in a damage control exercise ahead of the resumption of the budget session tomorrow.
53- year-old Singhvi, an eminent lawyer and a Rajya Sabha member, sent a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi informing her of his decision ten days after circulation of a CD purportedly involving him.
"I have done this only to prevent even the slightest possible Parliamentary disruption regarding the purported CDs being circulated about me.
"Since I am a disciplined party soldier, I did not think it fit to subject the party to any inconvenience on this account. All allegations are patently baseless and false," he said in a statement.
Singhvi acquired high profile after the committee headed by him came out with a report on the Lokpal last year on whose recommendation the government brought a legislation on the issue.
Full Text: Abhishek Singhvi’s resignation letter
IANS
Abhishek Manu Singhvi today resigned from all posts in the Congress party and from the Parliamentary standing committee on law and justice. Here’s the full text of his resignation letter:
I have decided to resign as Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, Justice. Personnel and Grievances and have informed the Hon’ble Congress President accordingly.
I have also decided not to brief the press.
I have done this only to prevent even the slightest possible Parliamentary disruption regarding the purported CDs being circulated about me. Since I am a disciplined party soldier, I did not think it fit to subject the party to any inconvenience on this account. All allegations are patently baseless and false.
AgenciesI wish to categorically state that canards and baseless allegations are being spread about alleged inappropriate conversation in the CD. People inimically opposed to me, who have assiduously spent over 10 days hearing, seeing, amplifying and distilling the CD have found no vestige of any reference, not even remotely, to any illegality, corrupt practice, or wrongdoing.
Specifically, some sections of the print and visual media are spreading a falsehood simply by repetition and hearsay that there is reference in the CD to the promise of any post. No one has heard any such reference in the CD.
There is none simply because it does not exist. It is pure imagination, wishful thinking and sensationalism.
The canard was spread simply to give the issue a public interest flavour since otherwise the contents of the CD, assuming them to be true (which they certainly are not), would disclose only something private and consensual giving a cause of action only to aggrieved family members (who have stood completely by me) and to no one else.
It is lamentable that such canards are being spread about a CD which has, in fact, been accepted thrice over to be fabricated and morphed. The driver’s disclosure statement to the police, his detailed written statement (ie written pleading) in the High Court and his oral statement recorded on oath physically in the presence of the judge, all explain how and why he created this fabrication.
A reputed media house which was co-defendant in the suit also recorded a consent statement based on the statement of the author of the CD ie the driver. A final permanent decree of injunction has been passed over five days ago.
It is noteworthy that the the driver’s threatening and blackmailing SMSes sent to my phone (including therein references to a potential CD) had been recorded in the last week of March itself (later extracted by the police), followed by a detailed four-page police complaint filed as far back as 29/3/12, i.e a full 13 days before the alleged CDs first surfaced in the media.
Either the CD is morphed or it is not. In either event it raises no public interest issue, yet evokes salacious private and prurient interest and contumacious internet violation of a flagrant kind. As a political or a professional class, instead of gleefully watching, promoting or participating in a person’s natural and understandable discomfiture, we must respect privacy issues.
Here’s why Abhishek Singhvi’s sex video isn’t shocking :
Daily Bhaskar
Politicos may speak of values, and come across as people who are extremely devoted to eradicating fraudulent activities that exist in the world. If you thought they grab headlines solely because of their political work, you are mistaken. There are many politicians whose sexual romps have generated more interest than their political agendas.
The recent sex video, allegedly featuring Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and a lawyer, which has gone viral and kept social media busy, seems to have spawned more curiosity than his political work ever could. As tabloids and websites gladly expose every minute detail of his affair, it is clear that only sex scandals sell politicians.
Here’s a list of national and international politicians who have sex scandals to their credit…
Bill Clinton: At the time of 1992 presidential primaries, Gennifer Flowers, former TV reporter, had claimed that she had an affair with candidate Bill Clinton which lasted for over a decade. As president, Clinton was also accused of sexually harassing Paula Jones, who was a state worker. Going by what the Jones investigation had revealed, the president was also involved with Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern.
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi: He was charged for having sex with Karima El-Mahroug, an underage prostitute. In 2009, Veronica Lario, to whom he was married for 19 years, had filed for divorce. She even openly accused her husband of "consorting with minors" after he attended the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia, an aspiring TV actress and model. In the same year, Patrizia D'Addario had alleged that she and other girls were paid to attend parties at Berlusconi's place.
Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn: He referred to his sexual encounter with a New York hotel maid as "consensual but stupid". This act cost him his chance to be the next French president. Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York on the charges of attempting to rape Diallo.
The Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal: Following The New York Times report, The Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal kicked off on March 10, 2008. It was reported that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer of the Democratic Party had patronized a prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP. This made him resign as governor on March 12.
ND Tiwari: The first citizen of Andhra Pradesh, governor and veteran congress leader, Tiwari was involved in a sex scandal in Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. Tiwari had allegedly abused teenage girls at the Raj Bhavan for many months. He was forced to resign when such reports surfaced.
Moshe Katsav: Former Israel President Moshe Katsav was convicted of raping an employee when he was a Cabinet minister. He was also convicted of indecent acts and sexual harassment which involved two other women who had worked for him after he was made the president in 2000.
Vladimir Putin: There were several reports about the Russian President Vladimir Putin involved with the gymnast-turned-politician Alina Kabaeva. It was also rumoured that Kabaeva had given birth to their love child.
Mike Duvall: California assemblyman Mike Duvall was caught on tape boasting about his sexual affairs to a colleague in California state assembly. He had to quit after a local television network aired the tape.
Pamela Bordes: Pamela Bordes, Miss India 1982, grabbed everyone’s attention in the late 1980s when it was revealed that she was an escort for high profile individuals including a British junior minister.