AAP spokespersons Ashutosh, Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh during a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. — Biplab Banerjee
AAP spokespersons Ashutosh, Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh during a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. — Biplab Banerjee
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party launched an attack on Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday, charging him for corruption during his tenure as the DDCA chief. The chief minister also demanded that the finance minister should either “resign” from the post or be “removed” from the Union Cabinet to enable a fair probe into the alleged corruption in the Delhi’s cricket body, DDCA.
Mr Kejriwal stressed that the finance minister’s assertion that the AAP allegations against him are “unsubstantiated and non-specific” could not be treated as “gospel truth” as the charges against him were “very, very serious.”
“Can Jaitleyji’s denial in press be taken as gospel truth Very serious allegations against him. Why is he running away from investigations If Jaitleyji were let off without investigations on basis of his press denial, then should all coal and 2G accused also be similarly let off ” Mr Kejriwal asked in a series of tweets.
Mr Kejriwal, who has accused the CBI of raiding his office to get hold of a file that “traps” Mr Jaitley, claimed that the allegations against the finance minister are “very, very serious.” “Amounts involved are huge. He should either resign or be removed to enable independent probe,” Mr Kejriwal demanded.
Hitting back at the Delhi chief minister over the Delhi and District Cricket Association row, Mr Jaitley accused him of spreading “false propaganda,” saying he seems to believe in “untruth and defamation and delivers a language that borders on hysteria.”
Mr Jaitley added that the DDCA case “is a part of propaganda technique to deflect attention when you yourself are in the dock” and accused Mr Kejriwal of focusing attention on him after he acted as a shield to cover an officer under investigation. “I have left cricket administration in 2013. By referring to some facts of 2014 and 2015, he can’t drag me in,” he said, terming allegations against him as unsubstantiated and non-specific.
The finance minister said the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which was entrusted with the investigations in the case by the previous UPA government, has clearly stated that “no fraud (was) noticed as alleged” and his role as DDCA president was “like a non-executive chairman without involvement in day-to-day affairs of the company.”
Earlier at a press conference, the AAP alleged huge financial bungling in the DDCA during Mr Jaitley’s 13-year tenure as its chief, saying large amounts were siphoned off through fake companies besides other irregularities, including in team selection. The AAP, quoting from reports of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the DDCA’s internal probe committee and a Delhi government-appointed inquiry panel, accused Mr Jaitley of giving “direct and indirect” consent to “massive corruption” in the cricket body.
“The bunglings had happened under direct or indirect consent of Arun Jaitley during his tenure as the DDCA chief. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ask Mr Jaitley to resign to ensure fair probe as some of the competent agencies for investigation are under the finance ministry,” AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha, flanked by a number of other leaders, said.
The AAP said Mr Jaitley’s defence was an attempt to “cover up” and that the finance minister did not reply to any of the specific allegations against him. “Reports by SFIO, DDCA fact -finding committee and two judges committee expose Jaitley. He should not mislead the nation by indulging in rhetoric,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh told reporters.
Referring to the Delhi and District Association’s reaction that the AAP allegations were “completely baseless and without any substance,” Mr Singh said that the cricket body did admit that there were “irregularities.” “Although they did not talk about the specifics, these are not mere irregularities. There was criminal conduct. Why was the finance minister not acted against ” Mr Singh asked.
