NEW DELHI: BJP on Monday came out in strong support of Arun Jaitley with its president Amit Shah terming all the allegations levelled by AAP against the Finance Minister as “baseless and far from truth” and asserting that the party stood unitedly with him and will not allow any “conspiracy” to defame him to succeed.
Rallying behind Mr Jaitley, Mr Shah also raised questions over the legality of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Arvind Kejriwal government to probe alleged irregularities in the Delhi cricket body, DDCA, during his tenure.
Hitting out at AAP, the BJP president said if it thinks that it can damage Mr Jaitley’s image through its “malicious attempts”, then it is “day-dreaming”. Such efforts would prove to be counter-productive as they will damage AAP only, he said.
“All allegations levelled against Jaitley are baseless and far from truth. This is a conspiracy to defame Jaitley. BJP stands united with him and will not allow any conspiracy to defame him succeed,” Mr Shah said in a statement.
Emphasising that Mr Jaitley is an honest and committed leader, he said even opposiiton leaders also resist from levelling allegations against him.
“Jaitley’s entire public life is like an open book and dedicated to the country and levelling such allegations against him are beyond any understanding as the SFIO had already ruled out his involvement in the day to day functioning of Delhi and District Cricket Association,” he said.
Mr Shah’s statement comes against the backdrop of the fierce attack by AAP and its government against Mr Jaitley, seeking his resignation over alleged financial irregularities in DDCA during his 13-year tenure as its head between 1999-2013.
Raising questions over the legality of the Commission and its jurisdiction, Mr Shah wondered “how the DDCA functioning comes under the preview of this one-man Commission is a matter of legal debate”.
He also termed as “diversionary tactics” AAP’s decision to set up the Commission as well as calling a special session of the Delhi assembly in this regard.
The people of the country are aware of Mr Jaitley’s high standards and principles in public life and transparency, he added.
PTI