Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
India

AAP-BJP War Rages On, Jaitley Terms Charges 'Untruth'

IANS, 17 Dec, 2015 11:03 AM
  • AAP-BJP War Rages On, Jaitley Terms Charges 'Untruth'
The AAP and the BJP were locked in a bitter war on Thursday, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's resignation for corruption and the latter accusing the AAP leader of spreading "untruth and falsehood".
 
Continuing its attack on Jaitley over alleged corruption when he headed Delhi's cricket association, Kejriwal said Jaitley must resign or should be sacked. The BJP and the central government rejected the demand.
 
Responding to Jaitley's defence of himself, Kejriwal asked: "Can Jaitley's denial be taken as gospel truth? Very serious allegations against him. Why is he running away from investigations?
 
"If Jaitley were (to be) let off without investigations on (the) basis of his press denial, then should all coal and 2G (scandal) accused also be similarly let off?"
 
Kejriwal -- who took on Jaitley two days after accusing the CBI of searching his room while targeting his principal secretary Rajendra Kumar, a charge denied by the CBI -- said huge amounts of money were involved in alleged wrongdoing in the DDCA.
 
Jaitley refuted all this, saying Kejriwal believed in "untruth and only falsehood".
 
 
"Free speech is unquestionably a pre-eminent fundamental right, but does free speech include the right to speak only falsehood? Kejriwal seems to believe in untruth and defamation, delivered in a language that borders on hysteria," the BJP veteran said in a Facebook post.
 
Jaitley denied corruption charges levelled against him by the AAP and also the Congress regarding the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which he headed for years.
 
"It is a part of propaganda technique to deflect attention when you yourselves are in the dock. Finding himself acting as a shield to cover an officer under investigation, the Delhi chief minister has attempted to focus attention on me," Jaitley said.
 
Parliamentary Affairs Minister and BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said: "There is no question of the resignation of Jaitley. They (AAP) are playing their political cards. This is no issue."
 
 
Union minister Smriti Irani said: "Political hysteria is being created to deflect attention from a corrupt officer. AAP has made false allegations."
 
Jaitley added: "I left cricket administration in 2013. By referring to some facts of 2014 and 2015, he (Kejriwal) can't drag me in."
 
Earlier, at a press conference, AAP leaders hurled a string of charges against Jaitley.
 
"A free and fair probe cannot be done as long as Jaitley remains in the post," AAP leader Sanjay Singh said. "So he should be removed."
 
The AAP allegations -- an elaboration of what it spoke about a day earlier -- came two days after the CBI raided the office of the principal secretary to Kejriwal on charges of corruption.
 
Kejriwal insisted that the CBI officials had searched his room too and read the file related to the probe report on the DDCA he had ordered. The CBI denied entering his room. 
 
In a related development, former cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi demanded to know that if all was hunky-dory in the DDCA, "then why did the court order the fourth Test (between India and South Africa to be) administered by Justice Mudgal? Will someone please educate me?"
 
Kejriwal, who re-tweeted Bedi's remark, said: "Good point."
 
 
Bedi went on: "Also, if the DDCA house was in order with no corruption, then why did BCCI stop all payment to DDCA and why was incumbent president of DDCA sacked?" Kejriwal again re-tweeted and said: "Agree."
 
Commenting on reports that the BJP had put a gag on its MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad, who has been campaigning against alleged corruption in the DDCA for years, the Delhi chief minister asked: "Is this true? Why is BJP trying to cover up Jaitley's corruption?"

MORE India ARTICLES

I Am Not Sheila Dikshit, Will Not Let You Sleep Peacefully: Arvind Kejriwal To Modi On Delhi Rapes

I Am Not Sheila Dikshit, Will Not Let You Sleep Peacefully: Arvind Kejriwal To Modi On Delhi Rapes
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded control over Delhi Police and said he won't let Prime Minister Narendra Modi "sleep peacefully" over rising crime in the capital.

I Am Not Sheila Dikshit, Will Not Let You Sleep Peacefully: Arvind Kejriwal To Modi On Delhi Rapes

Alleged Rapist Attacked By Victim's Family In Hospital

Alleged Rapist Attacked By Victim's Family In Hospital
The incident took place when one of the two accused, both minors, who are in police custody, were taken for medical check-up to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital - where the victim is also admitted - on Sunday afternoon, said a police official.

Alleged Rapist Attacked By Victim's Family In Hospital

Beef Row: Amit Shah Reprimands BJP 'Motormouths' Over Controversial Remarks

Beef Row: Amit Shah Reprimands BJP 'Motormouths' Over Controversial Remarks
  The others who faced Modi's wrath were ministers Mahesh Sharma and Sanjeev Baliyan, Lok Sabha member Sakshi Maharaj and Uttar Pradesh legislator Sangeet Som

Beef Row: Amit Shah Reprimands BJP 'Motormouths' Over Controversial Remarks

Violence As Truck Attack Victim Dies; Kashmir Bandh Called

Violence As Truck Attack Victim Dies; Kashmir Bandh Called
As news of the death in Delhi spread on Sunday, mobs took to the streets in the southern district of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley and blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway by burning tyres.

Violence As Truck Attack Victim Dies; Kashmir Bandh Called

Why Kerala Is The Best Place To Die In India

Why Kerala Is The Best Place To Die In India
Kerala's efforts received a feather in its cap when Singapore-based Lien Foundation praised the state's provision of palliative care for patients with serious illnesses, in its 40-country Quality of Death study recently.

Why Kerala Is The Best Place To Die In India

Sikhs Continue Protests In Punjab's Malwa Over Desecration Of Guru Granth Sahib

Sikhs Continue Protests In Punjab's Malwa Over Desecration Of Guru Granth Sahib
The protestors blocked roads in Moga and Bathinda districts and demanded action against those involved in the desecration of the Sikh holy book.

Sikhs Continue Protests In Punjab's Malwa Over Desecration Of Guru Granth Sahib