Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday produced call records to validate his claims about his conversation with slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare shortly before he was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He also demanded a public apology from Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil for questioning his claims.
I expect from those who had called me a liar and traitor and put question marks over my integrity that they should apologise or at least express regret, Singh said at a press conference at the Constitution Club here.
He clarified that he had not held the press conference at party office because it concerned conversation between two individuals.
In a letter to Patil on Monday,Singh referred to their telephonic conversation on December 31 in which the Congress leader had raised objection to the Home Ministers statement in Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha without collecting proper information that the state police had no record of his conversation with Karkare.
Because of your statement and that of Maharashtra police,an attempt has been made through the media in the country to prove my statement false. Mediapersons also called me a liar, Singh said in his letter stating that had the Home Minister got an inquiry done,he would not have made the statement.
I request you to offer apology publicly or express regret, said Singh in his letter,attaching with it a copy of the BSNL call records that showed that there was a call from Maharashtra ATS office landline number (022-23087336) to his mobile (09425015461) at 5.44 pm on November 26,2008.
On Tuesday,Patil refused to respond to Singhs demand for an apology,saying he will study the Congress leaders statement first.
The call records released at Singhs press conference on Tuesday showed that the purported conversation between Singh and Karkare had lasted for 381 seconds. Asked how it could be proved by call records whether Karkare had told him about the threat to his life due to his investigation into Malegaon blast case,Singh said,I believe in ethics. I do not tape any phone nor do I recommend so. He,however,asserted that he had categorically said that Pakistani terrorists were involved in 26/11 attack.
He said he had never met Karkare. According to him,after the accused in Malegaon blasts were arrested,he had called him up to congratulate him because they were the same people whose activities had drawn his attention when he was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
