The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday came out in support of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for making false allegations of corruption against him when Jaitley headed the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA).
Addressing a press conference, Union minister and senior party leader Smriti Irani said: “Political hysteria is being created to deflect attention from a corrupt officer. AAP has made false allegations. An investigation report on DDCA during the UPA government had proved there was no fraud in Jaitley’s regime. The report AAP was referring to was an investigation done by the DDCA itself. Even that does not mention Jaitley’s name.”
“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s efforts to save a corrupt officer are the last rites of the Anna Hazare movement,” she added, referring to the CBI case against a senior officer attached to Kejriwal’s office.
In a separate post on social media, Jaitley said no personal allegation was ever made against him in relation to the DDCA and pointed out that he quit cricket administration in 2013.
“Free speech is unquestionably a pre-eminent fundamental right, but does free speech include the right to speak any falsehood? The Delhi Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal seems to believe in untruth and defamation, delivered in a language that borders on hysteria,” he wrote.