Modi can’t be targetted on National Herald case: Bhushan

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Prashant Bhushan today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be targetted for the National Herald case which was a court battle and also for the CBI raid on the office of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Principal Secretary.

Bhushan, a former Aam Aadmi Party leader, said Congress should not cry political vendetta in the National Herald case.

Speaking to PTI, he pitched for a probe by an independent investigating agency into alleged financial irregularities in DDCA over which AAP is gunning for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s resignation.

Bhushan said resignation of Jaitley, who had headed the DDCA, could not be sought on the grounds of mere allegations, without any evidence substantiating them.

“The National Herald case and Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) scam are not matters for which Narendra Modi can be targeted and held responsible…,” he said, noting that it was a court battle.

“In the National Herald case either… In this case, the court has given summons to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Bhushan said Modi cannot be held responsible for raids on Kejriwal’s Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar’s office, as it is an offshoot of a complaint filed by Ashish Joshi, former member-secretary of Delhi Dialogue Commission, alleging serious financial irregularities.

In his complaint on July 13, 2015, Joshi had alleged that Kumar set up various companies when he was Director of Education from May 2002 to February 2005 and later Secretary, IT and Health, and Commissioner, VAT, and awarded work orders of departments to these companies without floating tenders, resulting in loss to government exchequer.