Press Conference on KGB : Issued by Shri L.K. Advani, President, BJP & Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha)

 

It is today more than a week that Shri A.B. Vajpayee, Shri Jaswant Singh and I had addressed a joint letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expressing our concern over the disclosures made in the KGB papers, and urging a public inquiry into the allegations levelled.

We felt that the issues raised by these revelations go well beyond individuals or even parties. Some of the charges made are such that the reputation of our entire Country gets sullied in the process.

As there has been no response from the Prime Minister till date, I am today releasing the text of the letter to the media.

The UPA establishment, till now, has chosen either total reticence or blatant evasion with regard to the revelations made in volume II of Mitrokhin Archives, originally tilled: “The world was going our way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World”.

It will be less than honest and far from convincing to sidetrack these allegations as having been fabricated by an individual or any conspiring power.

During the Cold War era, Soviet Russia was our close friend. And it is certainly a blot on the fair name of our country to be told by the leading Intelligence Agency of that Country that India those days was a “ country open for sale “ or “ a model of KGB infiltration into the third world”.

The UPA Government has a responsibility to come clean on this issue that has scandalized the country. The official secrecy of the country seems to have been seriously breached at that time. The PMO, the Defence Ministry and even the Intelligence Bureau appear to have been penetrated.

It is alleged that during 1975, the year of the infamous Emergency, a total amount of 10.6 million roubles (more than £ 10 million in then prevailing exchange rates) were spent by KGB on influence operations to support Mrs. Gandhi, and to undermine her political opponents.

The KGB papers have further alleged that in the 1977 elections, there were 21 non-communist politicians, including four Union Ministers, whose elections were subsidized by KGB.

Indeed, the charge that in 1978, KGB was running over 30 agents in India, 10 of whom were Indian intelligence officers is a matter of great concern, if true.

Another area of concern in this context is the influence the KGB came to wield on the Indian press. By 1973, it is claimed the KGB had as many as 10 leading Indian newspapers and one leading wire service on its pay- rolls. This must be fully investigated, our “freedom of speech” is the issue.

Of course, Leaders of the Marxist Parties being on Moscow’s pay-roll would not come as a surprise to any one except to the uninitiated. The Communist Party of India was until 1943, just the Indian chapter of the Communist International, controlled directly from Moscow. No wonder it had collaborated with the British during the Quit India Movement of 1942- 43. Even after independence, in 1962, it had no qualms justifying the Chinese invasion.


In so far as India is concerned, the time period to which most of the KGB exposures relate is the mid-seventies.

Ironically, it was in 1973 that the Government of India introduced in Parliament The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 1973. The Bill was referred to a Joint Select Committee and passed in 1976. With some later amendments, this is still an important law on the statute book.

Under this law, all Government employees, all Members of Parliament and State Legislatures, all political parties, their office bearers or candidates for election, and furthermore, all media persons are totally prohibited from accepting any foreign contribution.

This law bans all these categories from accepting even hospitality from any foreign source except with the permission of Government. Was this not a monstrous fraud on democracy that at a point of time when an ordinary newsman or a naïve member of a State Assembly could become subject to severe penalties if he were to accept an invitation to visit a foreign country, those in Government were accepting crores and crores without any hesitation what so ever.

The voluminous exposures, made in these KGB papers add up to an extremely disturbing scandal, calling for a comprehensive enquiry by a Supreme Court judge.

The country would like to know how much of all that is contained in these sensational papers is true. In our letter to the Prime Minister we have urged him “ to encourage the political parties concerned to file suits in the appropriate courts of law ” in respect of all such allegations as they think are not true. The BJP demands that the Prime Minister makes a detailed statement in this regard without any further delay.

There is need to fully investigate our intelligence agencies, too. The nation’s security is the issue.

Also, the Government must commit itself to bringing out a White Paper in a given time frame sharing with the nation all the information it has on the foreign funds pumped into India since independence to pollute its politics.

The White Paper, we demand should not be confined to the KGB. It must cover all foreign sources, including CIA & ISI. Senator Moyinhan has in his papers recorded some facts about the CIA’s activities in India. As for the ISI, there is no requirement of any elaboration of that Agency and its activities in India.


Both the main parties in the UPA Government have come under a cloud because of these KGB revelations. Their silence is understandable.

The country, however, hopes that the Prime Minister will respond boldly to our plea, and clinch the issue.

The people cannot forget that when the Nanavati Commission described the 1984 killings in the capital as “an organized carnage”, it was Dr. Manmohan Singh who mustered courage to apologise publicly to the nation for the gory happenings. He personally had nothing to do with those crimes.

The situation is very similar today. If Dr. Manmohan Singh announces that Government will come out with a White Paper, and also set up a judicial enquiry, he would be serving a twofold cause – firstly patriotism, and next, integrity in public life. And he would simultaneously be redeeming the country of the stigma that may stick to us because of these exposures.


Date : Sept. 23, 2005

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,

No doubt you have seen reports that have appeared internationally, also in the national media regarding certain disclosures made by the KGB papers. These are broadly of two kinds ? one, contained in the book 'The Mitrokhin Archive ? II : The KGB and the World', which is not yet available on the stands in India but is accessible through website and which has two if not more chapters specific to India. The other kind of material is memoirs of former Soviet officials, who have given voice to what they did including payments of monies to various citizens of India. Such allegations are contained in 'The Mitrokhin Archives -- Volume II', as also in the papers of I.A Benediktov.

I am sure you will agree that the issues raised by these disclosures go well beyond individuals, or even particular political parties only. The allegations are such that virtually all of India gets charged, the name of our country getting sullied in the process.

That in essence, is our concern, the nation's good name, particularly when it is said that 'India was the easiest country for KGB operatives to penetrate'.

We write this letter to you in the hope that you will take it in the light in which it is written. The central question here, along with the good name of the country, is about the image of public life, also the imperative need of rebutting robustly such allegations as are false.
May we therefore, request you to please initiate such public inquiry in the matter as would clear the situation at the very earliest, say in not later than four weeks. In addition it would be worthy of your consideration to encourage the political parties concerned to also file suits for defamation in the appropriate courts of law, should these allegations, be held by them as untrue.

We are sure you will appreciate the intent of this letter. After waiting for a suitable period for your reply, we will release this letter to the Press.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

 

(Atal Bihari Vajpayee)	(Lal Krishan Advani)
(Jaswant Singh)

 

Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Hon'ble Prime Minister,
New Delhi.