.png "Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)"){kind=small}
In the context of the CD released by ‘Media Sarkar’, the Aam Aadmi Party had declared that we would investigate the matter within 24 hours and come to a decision. We had asked for this time for two lines of investigation: firstly, we wanted to meet our candidates who have been named in this CD and hear their side of the story; secondly, we wanted to verify the authenticity of the of the CD by seeing the complete, unedited, raw footage.
Yesterday night – immediately after the Press Conference – Mr. Sanjay Singh called up the CEO of ‘Media Sarkar’, Mr. Anuranjan Jha and requested him to give us the raw footage. During the phone conversation, he agreed to give us the footage and asked us to send a formal request for it. Last night itself, our National Secretary, Mr. Pankaj Gupta, sent a request, via email, to Mr. Anuranjan Jha asking him to give us the raw footage by 11am today morning. Later we extended the time and requested him to give us the footage by 3pm today. We requested TV channels that if they access to the raw footage, they must air it and show the whole truth to the people of this country. Even at 3pm Mr. Jha did not send us the raw footage or respond to our email. On a TV channel he stated that he would not give the raw footage to the party. From what we know the raw footage tapes have not reached any TV channel as well.
The refusal of ‘Media Sarkar’ to share the raw footage is evidence of the fact that they are hiding something. If they have done the sting in the interests of the nation – as they claim – then why are they not ready to share the complete footage? If they were in such a tearing hurry to release the CD before the elections, then why the delay in sharing the complete footage for an investigation? If the sting CD wasn’t handed over to a constitutional authority, then why are willing to share the raw footage only with a constitutional authority? If the CD was made public, then why not make the whole footage public? The timing of this CD incident and behaviour of its proponents, makes us doubt the intentions of those who have made this CD. From the very beginning, the Aam Aadmi Party has been the target of the corrupt political establishment of this country. With the elections drawing close and the unprecedented wave of support that has emerged in the favour of the Aam Aadmi Party has shocked and rattled both major political parties and other vested interests. This sting operation appears to be a conspiracy that has come out of this shock and agitation.
Even without the unedited footage, the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party has closely examined the CD released yesterday. Our understanding is that the evidence presented in the CD does not match the allegations that have been made.
The videos seem to be very problematic even with the limited evidence we have;
1.It is very clear that the reporters have been pursuing the candidates repeatedly and are trying to get them to say anything at all. Candidates are often seen trying to avoid/ get rid the reporter (by saying Haan, hoon). These specific interactions with the reporters are interpreted as acts of affirmation to their requests and hence proof of wrongdoing.
2. Every conversation is taken out of context; sections of the video have been cut-pasted to distort its original meaning. As long as we cannot view the entire raw footage that contain the conservation before and after the aired video, it will not be fair to prove any of the stated accusations.
3.We observe that the video is cut in the middle of conservations. Further parts of the video are hidden.
4.In one instance, we found that the transcript does not include an important sentence which is clearly audible in the video.
Because of the above reasons, Aam Aadmi Party has reached the conclusion that taking formal action against any of our candidates would be against the foundations of natural law. We believe that this CD is part of a sponsored attack on the movement for honest politics in the country. We can expect several such conspiracies in the coming days. We request the public to be aware of such baseless attempts of defamation of our party.
We would also like to note that issuing such a CD in the middle of election campaigning is against the laws of the nation, the code of conduct of the Election Commission, and violates the ethnics of journalism. For this reason, the Aaam Aadmi Party will take the following steps:
1.We will file a case of criminal defamation against Media Sarkar immediately.
2.We appeal the Election Commission to intervene in this matter in account of violation of its code of conduct and to take steps towards banning further broadcast of the videos. We also appeal to the Election Commission to take strict action against the violators.
3.The Party will appeal to the News Broadcasters Associations and Press Council to take action against news channels that have broadcasted these videos without verifying its authenticity.
Aam Aadmi Party is committed to the practice of honest politics. For this reason, the people of this country have high expectations from us and it is only natural that we are held to higher standards of ethics. We have promised that if any evidence on corruption, objectionable behavior or characters is presented against any of any candidates, the party will withdraw his/her candidature in the upcoming elections.
Unlike other parties, Aam Aadmi Party does not wish to end this matter merely by finding loopholes in the existing legal structures. We want that these accusations be investigated in an independent and non-partisan manner so that the absolute truth is revealed in front of people. The people of this country have faith in the Election Commission. We request the Election Commission to investigate the accusations made in the CD as soon as possible (if possible within 48 hours) and let the people of the country know if any of our candidates have violated any laws or code of conduct. If the Election Commission finds any evidence against our candidates accused in the CD, the Aam Aadmi Party will immediate withdraw their candidature. We hope truth prevails in this trial by fire.
