DDCA row: Sonia trashes Jaitley’s allegation

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday rubbished allegations by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of her involvement in ‘targeting’ the latter in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) row.

“Is Sonia Gandhi responsible for everything?” asked Sonia Gandhi.

In an interview to a National daily, Jaitley alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirti Azad had met the Congress president during the UPA tenure which instigated an investigation by the Serious Frauds Office.

Jaitley also said that the meeting of minds between the Congress leadership and Azad resulted in a plan to target him.

‘One member of Parliament wrote to the Congress government, he met Sonia Gandhi. He met Sonia Gandhi and they said we will fix Jaitley,’ he said.

Jaitley has been accused of corruption by the Delhi Government and former players including Kirti Azad and Bishan Singh Bedi during his tenure as president of DDCA till 2013.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress Party has demanded for the resignation of the Finance Minister from the union cabinet to enable an independent probe against him.

Kirti Azad had even written letter to the SHO, IP Estate, alleging that rules were flouted during Arun Jaitley’s tenure as DDCA president. Azad had even requested Delhi Police to thoroughly investigate the matter against Jaitley.

Taking cognisance of the demand of probe in the DDCA scam, Kejriwal formed a two-member committee to investigate the allegations. The Delhi government was preparing to set up a Commission of Inquiry over it when the CBI raided the Delhi Secretariat.

Kejriwal had alleged that the CBI raid was conducted to take possession of the DDCA files which were kept in his office.

Jaitley denied Kejriwal’s allegations as ‘utterly baseless’. He had earlier opposed former sports minister in the UPA government Ajay Maken’s proposal to make sports bodies like the DDCA more transparent and accountable.

ANI