Oppn asks if Jaitley will quit like Advani, BJP brushes it off

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew a parallel between LK Advani and Arun Jaitley, who is now facing charges in the DDCA affair, opposition leaders wondered if the Finance Minister will also resign like party veteran did in the Hawala case, a suggestion rejected by BJP.

“Modi: ‘I am sure Arun Jaitley would come out clean as Advaniji did in Hawala case’. But would Jaitley resign as Advaniji did ? No question!,” tweeted senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury claimed that Modi has signalled to Jaitley to resign in the wake of DDCA row by citing Advani’s example in the Hawala case. 

“By drawing a parallel with Advani, the Prime Minister is giving a hint to Arun Jaitley that he should resign, get himself cleared and come back. I read it as a signal to Jaitley that you also do the same thing”, he told reporters.

BJP was quick to dismiss such claims. “There is no parallel between charges against Advani and Jaitley. CBI had registered a case, launched a criminal investigation and Advani quit as an MP on moral grounds. There is no criminal probe against Jaitley. These are allegations leveled by opposition which are unsupported by evidence.

“In fact, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office probe was carried out into these allegations when Congress was in power. It stated that there was no fraud or cheating. Due to political rivalry, Congress is ignoring its government’s inquiry. It has no moral right to level such a charge,” BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

BJP leaders noted that the SFIO probe was launched on the complaint of party MP Kirti Azad, who has again targeted Jaitley over the issue after AAP and Congress raked it up.

First Congress disrupted Parliament over a case in which its leaders are accused of “grabbing” Rs 5000 cr assets by investing only Rs 50 lakh and now they have resorted to leveling flase charges against Jaitley to do it, Sharma said.

In a strong show of support for Jaitley, Modi said at BJP parliamentary party meet that he will come through “with flying colours” against charges of corruption levelled against him by opposition in a same way Advani did in Hawala case.