Published: Dec 21, 2015, 07:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 22, 2015, 05:40 AM (IST)
The exchange of words between Arun Jaitley and Kirti Azad is growing by the day and has turned to be a major crisis for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the government it leads. The battle is also raging fire within the party. While speaking on the alleging corruption in Delhi’s cricket body, Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), Mr.Azad, the party law maker, has stopped taking name of union finance minister and his senior party colleague Mr. Jaitley, who has headed DDCA for last 13 years. Today, Mr. Azad raised the issue twice in Lok Sabha, seeking CBI investigation monitored by special investigation team into the allegation. ALSO READ: DDCA corruption: Arun Jaitley can’t intimidate AAP, says Arvind Kejriwal
There have been cases of rebellions, but never has a lawmaker targeted a minister on the floor of the house. The opposition is gunning for minister. None of the senior minister’s of BJP stopped Mr. Azad from claiming such allegations. Party’s president, Amit Shah, has already whip Mr. Azad twice on Friday from making any derogatory comments against Mr, Jaitley as that would hamper the party and the government. On Sunday, Mr. Azad held a press conference and made strong allegations against DDCA without mentioning Mr. Jaitley.
The issue has not yet been flagged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither has it been raised to the disciplinary committee of BJP. Today Mr. Jaitley went to Patiala House to file a statement in criminal defamation case against leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) along with five union ministers- JP Nadda, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajyavardhan Rathore, who are close to Mr. Jaitley. Although many ministers have spoken in support of Mr.Jaitley, none of his colleagues among the government top five like Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj have made any comments. ALSO READ: Narendra Modi wishes India luck ahead of ODI series finale against South Africa
Mr. Azad is believed to be close to some senior ministers with whom Mr. Jaitley has a rocky relation over the past. Although Mr. Singh is number two in the government, it’s no secret that Mr. Jaitley has been seen as the most powerful minister in the government after Prime Minister. As reported on NDTV.com, Mr. Jaitley has sued Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for defamation over their DDCA allegations, but not against Mr. Azad. Mr. Rathore explained, “The case has been filed against those who have been naming individuals.” By not mentioning Mr. Azad, Mr. Jaitley has left room open for the party to act against him.
