PM backs Jaitley on DDCA

The Congress on Monday kicked up a ruckus in both Houses of Parliament to press for Arun Jaitley's resignation and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into alleged corruption in Delhi's cricket association when the finance minister headed the DDCA.

Jaitley said the allegations levelled by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders will cause "irreversible damage to his reputation".

He was replying to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi comparing the charges of corruption against Mr Jaitley with the Hawala case faced by Mr Advani in the nineties, in which he had come clear at the end.

The prime minister said the Congress was not able to digest its electoral defeats since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and was raking up manufactured allegations to defame his government.

The Opposition seized on the comparison with Advani to ask if the Prime Minister was suggesting that Jaitley resign.

The Delhi government called a special session of the assembly on Tuesday to set up a panel to probe the alleged financial irregularities in the DDCA.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta said the protest was a mark of "anger" of the people against the AAP government's "unconstitutional" ways and use of the House for "political vendetta" instead of deliberating issues of development and public interest.

"BJP should take disciplinary action against Kirti Azad and some other MPs for embarrassing party and playing in the hands of opposition".

The Chief Minister also slammed BJP for protecting the Finance Minister despite facing charges of alleged irregularities during his tenure as DDCA chief for around 13 years till 2013.

The party also rejected any comparison between the Hawala case against LK Advani and the allegations in the DDCA affair against Jaitley.

Azad and Sharma said the inquiry can not be free and fair if Jaitley continues as the finance minister, particularly when the Enforcement Directorate and Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) that will be involved in the probe come under his ministry.

It was done to deflect issues from an unrelated search during investigation by CBI of a bureaucrat in the secretariat of the Delhi government based on a complaint by a third party, he said.

The minister, who was frequently interrupted by Congress members, said the stadium was built at a total cost of Rs. 114 crore.

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