Jaya Jaitley chat

Apart from fighting charges of accepting bribes in the Tehelka Defence scam, playing protective mother-in-law to defamed cricketer Ajay Jadeja, Samata Party's feisty leader Jaya Jaitley is also busy playing grandmother these days. Read transcripts of a chat on December 20

Soniyachandra: Videotapes and recording of telephonic conversations have been rejected as an evidence under even POTA. Under what ground was Tehelka allowed to spread them?
Jaya Jaitly: Tehelka believes that they are a law unto themselves and have used the gray areas between the press council rules and laws governing the electronic media to spread their concocted story through television and the print media. There is no case in court which could go forward unless the videotapes are examined for their veracity. It has been a mystery as to how the Venkataswami Commission used it as evidence without checking it.

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Reenac: What will you describe the Tehelka method of journalism as?
Jaya Jaitly: A combination of illegal acts, including entrapment, bribery, seduction of army officers, and tampering of tapes. It is not journalism at all.

Laughingbuddha: Why can't you accept that you have accepted money for money's sake?
Jaya Jaitly: I have always said that I accepted the offer of a donation for the party but requested them to send it to the actual organizer of a party conference. I DID NOT accept any money.

Anil: What is your opinion about the Gujarat elections?
Jaya Jaitly: They were free, fair and a democratic expression of the people of Gujarat and it would be a great mistake to believe that the people were swayed by en masse by Hindutva. For a variety of different reasons, including nationalism, terrorism, caste factors and local issues, the voter felt more confident of the BJP. Even we did not win any seats, but were well supported by voters of all castes and religions... for the reasons of credibility.

Jolmatihaoa: Did you know Tarun Tejpal before the Tehelka issue?
Jaya Jaitly: Neither before, nor now.

Vikashandu: What does your son-in-law intend to do to clear his name in the match fixing scam?
Jaya Jaitly: He filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, which has referred his case to be heard by an arbitrator. These hearings are going on right now.

Vikashandu: What is your educational background like?
Jaya Jaitly: I am a graduate from Smith College, USA in English Literature and Social Anthropology. I have studied in educational institutions in Japan, Burma, Belgium, England and India, including Delhi University.

Jolmatihaoa: Then what do you think could be the reason behind framing you?
Jaya Jaitly: A woman is always a handy tool to attack in politics when the real target was George Fernandes, the Defence Minister. And via him the NDA government itself.

Laughingbuddha: Don't you think funding for political activities should be legalized in India?
Jaya Jaitly: It is already a perfectly legal activity as per the Income Tax Act. Very few people know that a party can take any amount in donations from anyone by cash or cheque, so long as any amount above Rs. 10,000/- is accompanied by the donor's name and address. It is always the donor who does not want his name to be known, but there is no problem for a political party to openly state who helps them.

Amitk: Why is Samata Party against disinvestment of PSUs to Indian companies? What's wrong in inviting bids from ONGC, Reliance, Khemka and others?
Jaya Jaitly: We are not against disinvestment, nor do we say that it should not go to capable PSUs. What we do not want is private monopoly of an entire sector being created as an alternative to government monopoly.

Jolmatihaoa: Don't you think the 'Indian woman' stereotype does not fit into the bribe economy?
Jaya Jaitly: We should not fall into the trap of any kind of stereotype. There should be politicians of integrity. It does not matter whether they are men or women. Either can choose a dishonest path once they come into public life, and there is no formula, which says all men are dishonest, and all women are honest.

Jolmatihaoa: Then why do you say women are easy targets?
Jaya Jaitly: It is easy to question the character of a woman and it is tougher for a woman to be tough.

Jughead: What is your opinion on the Hindustan Times report (dated 20/12/02) on a nexus between Samajwadi Party and Dawood Ibrahim? Should such political parties, which are flouting communal card, only be allowed to flourish?
Jaya Jaitly: Most parties who speak against communalism, end up playing their own version of it. I would not like to comment on the Samajwadi Party without proof, because too many people are defamed because some story comes in the press of a nexus, which may not be true. If there is any basis to it, then the concerned authorities must get to the bottom of it. And expose this before the public.

Kashmiri_indian: P. V. Narasimha Rao accepted Rs. 5 crore as the then Prime Minister and party president of Congress and still didn't resign. If you were innocent then why did you resign as party president?
Jaya Jaitly: I did not resign because I accepted money but because people were making vicious attacks against me, which was harming the party. I wanted to save the party from having to be answerable and have fought the battle as an individual because Tehelka defamed me as an individual.

Chandok: Jayaji, why aren't you doing anything to get Ajay Jadeja back in the Indian team? He always performed well for India.
Jaya Jaitly: It is not for me to get him into any team. He is fighting a legal battle to prove that he was never given a fair chance to show that he was never involved in match-fixing. It is always a media trial that harms the person in such situations because no one stopped to think that he could not be performing well for India and harming it's interests at the same time. Perhaps during saner moments, the press itself will examine his performance and how he was treated so shabbily by the BCCI.

Vikashandu: Would you advise women to enter politics?
Jaya Jaitly: Despite everything that I have had to face, it is a fundamental belief that no country can prosper without women playing a very active part in politics and no political party is decent unless it learns to respect, give dignity and a voice to women.

Lalitha: George Fernades has been the most popular defence minister, at least with the armed forces and the millions of Indians now working in defence productions using indigenous technology. Obviously, in doing so, he has become unpopular with various middlemen and foreign defence producers. Do you think they might have had a hand in the Tehelka 'expose'?
Jaya Jaitly: I am unable to say who could have been behind the Tehelka episode but certainly such people would have been beneficiaries if he had stayed out of the ministry and old systems had prevailed. I was told more than two years ago that we were very unpopular because we did not allow such people to approach the party. Tehelka obviously needed to find a way to meet me through deceitful methods to try to prove otherwise. Even then, I had refused to intercede in their 'problem', unless genuine injustice or unfair practices were going on and even then I had made it clear that my only concern was national interest. To try to show that this corruption is to make nonsense of the truth.

Rajendrakj: Why do most parties dislike the BJP?
Jaya Jaitly: It is only those who are in opposition who will be troubled by those who are ruling. The rest is all lables pasted on various parties and people to try to discredit them in the public eye.

Jrajan: Will Ajay Jedeja get into movies?
Jaya Jaitly: He is already acting in two films, but he will succeed as a movie star if he does a good job and the public likes it.

Manishadubey: Lobbying is considered a permitted trade in the US and there are regulations governing lobbying. Why is it looked poorly in India, where it is practiced actively and still not respected?
Jaya Jaitly: Lobbying is respectable depending upon the cause. If arms dealers are allowed to lobby, it can be dangerous. In the US, people pay lobbyists but all that needs a lot of money, which India does not have. Can you imagine anyone being able to pay for lobbying on behalf of handloom weavers or poor forest tribals, whereas they may be the most needy. As for authorized and registered representatives of multinational companies and others, the government could have a transparent and fair policy to ensure that India's interests are served and that money is not the motivator.

Rajendrakj: So you mean your party supports BJP from heart or is it for some adjustment?
Jaya Jaitly: In a coalition, each party has it's own ideology and manifesto. So we can only support our own party from our hearts, but all parties make adjustments for a coalition to succeed. These would be in the interests of governance and without giving up fundamental beliefs.

Kripesh: What is your view on Supreme court quashing the government order for petrol pump cancellation?
Jaya Jaitly: The cancellation harmed some genuine people so it was perhaps better to look at the situation case by case and not get carried away by party labels and media hype.

Thesaint: Why do think Tehelka.com is not agreeing the tapes to be checked? Is it that they fear government may tamper the tapes?
Jaya Jaitly: I had suggested that the tapes could be examined by an independent foreign expert in the premises of the Venkataswami Commission itself, but Tehelka did not agree to that either. If they are demanding honesty, transparency and accountability from the political class, then they should set an example by applying it to themselves first and offer that the tapes should be examined by the FBI, Scotland Yard or any independent agency abroad. It is no use accusing the government of doctoring the report when they are not willing to face my accusations that they have tampered with the tapes.

Thesaint: Since how long have you been in the handicrafts sector?
Jaya Jaitly: I have been working with crafts people since 1965 and have thus devoted my entire working life for their causes. Politics began only in 1984.

Thesaint: When a commission (Venkataswami Commission) was already functioning why did you go to the High Court? Did you lose faith in the Commission?
Jaya Jaitly: There were certain times I felt that the Ccommission was going about the enquiry from back to front. Surely, the tapes should have been examined for veracity before we were.
The commission did not reject but put-off the issue, and since the hearings were almost concluding, I requested the court to direct the Commission to have the tapes forensically examined. The High Court said that I should go back to the Commission for a decision. The Tehelka/Congress combine saw to it that the commission itself evaporated so that I could not pursue with this issue.

Jrajan: Do you think our PM will complete his tenure?
Jaya Jaitly: Of course!

Nitinmalik_in: What made you enter politics?
Jaya Jaitly: The basic reason was for the interests of crafts people and handloom weavers. The immediate provocation was the attack on the Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 and my experiences during those days and while running a relief camp at Shahdara for three months. I believed that it was necessary for social activists to take a political stand honestly and directly through a political party and I thought that joining the socialist group in the Janata Party at that time was the best. The Janata Party became the Janata Dal, after which a section broke-off and formed the Samata Party. So that is how I am here.

Jagajitsingh: About the 1984 riots, you have deposed that the rioters "were not afraid of the police who were standing by" to the Nanavati Commission. Why has NDA government not done anything to take action against those Congress leaders and policemen who personally led the rioters?
Jaya Jaitly: When the Nanavati Commission submits its report, I hope it will make suitable recommendations so that the NDA government can act as necessary.

Thesaint: What prompted you to set up Dilli Haat?
Jaya Jaitly: I realized that simple crafts people needed a market-place of their own to carry out sales with dignity and better profits. I based it on the traditional haat, which is most suitable for small craftspersons, who come from rural areas. It took me six years to get it established and now that around 50,000 crafts people have benefited, I feel quite satisfied.

Laughingbuddha: How can people say that mediamen are not fair anymore when the truth is that for long they have had more than just political leanings?
Jaya Jaitly: Since the electronic media became more effective, the media have become more powerful. Power and politics always go together.