NEW DELHI: The renowned journalist Tavleen Singh has angered the Congress with her claims that official and secret data from the office of the former prime minister Manmohan Singh were taken to Congress President Sonia Gandhi's home during a debate on India Today on October 19. Tavleen Singh has been requested by former finance minister P Chidambaram to provide supporting documentation for her claim.
On a television programme for India Today TV show, a veteran journalist made a ludicrous and offensive accusation against Dr. Manmohan Singh. She claimed that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, had been given confidential PMO documents in violation of the Official Secrets Act. I rebuked the show while I was watching it right away. On the panel, Mr. Praveen Chakravarty pressed her for proof. She consented to provide proof after a series of defensive responses. We want to remind her that she has till NOW to present some proof. Chidambaram wrote, "We challenge her to prove her outrageous and careless claim against the previous Prime Minister (sic).
Tavleen Singh claimed that Sonia Gandhi was a "woman who could make the Prime Minister of India break the Official Secrets Act" on the Rajdeep Sardesai-hosted programme. Secret files were sent to her. In response, Praveen Chakravarty, the Indian National Congress's chair of data analytics and a guest on the programme, said, "I want to express a concern. On your programme, someone accused the PM of breaking the Official Secrets Act. They must either offer proof of it or suffer the repercussions. That must be questioned.
Tavleen answered by saying that numerous individuals who were employed at the time in the Prime Minister's office had made similar claims. "Numerous tales regarding numerous topics have been written. When the former PM is being charged, whispers in the hallway are useless. You are wholly mistaken. On the basis of certain whispers and rumours in the press, you cannot accuse the previous prime minister of breaking the Official Secrets Act, Praveen replied.
On October 20, Praveen warned Tavleen Singh on Twitter that she will suffer serious repercussions for her remarks. "A sour gossip columnist accuses the highly regarded former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on national television of making outrageous claims. We demand that she quickly deliver the proof she stated she would. She will be made to suffer serious penalties if that doesn't happen," he said.
P Chidambaram received a response from Tavleen Singh, who defended her remarks. "Officers who transported government documents to 10 Janpath have been identified by PMO employees. Former ministers acknowledge obeying Sonia Gandhi's directions. She was the de facto prime minister back then, and she still will be, she said.
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