File photo of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley File photo of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

The BJP on Sunday demanded a public apology from the Aam Aami Party for pinning irregularities in the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley when a Delhi government report on the matter didn’t even name him.

“The truth is out,” BJP spokesperson M J Akbar said. “The report does not name Jaitley. There is no allegation against him, there is no indication (of wrongdoing). The Delhi Chief Minister, we believe, should apologise to Jaitley for his allegations… he should publicly apologise. He should also admit his fault in the court (where Jaitley has filed a civil defamation suit against the CM and other AAP members)”.

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After a “conspiracy” by the then Congress government, Akbar added, the Serious Frauds Investigation Office too had conducted an inquiry but found nothing against Jaitley, a former DDCA chief.

AAP, however, kept up its attack. As sections of the media reported that Jaitley was not named in the inquiry report submitted by the Delhi government’s three-member committee that had probed alleged irregularities in the DDCA, Kejriwal tweeted, “Interesting to see how some media houses are desperately trying to prove Jaitley ji innocent.”

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In another tweet, he asked, “Why is Jaitley ji afraid of facing enquiry? Thats the difference betn BJP n AAP. AAP takes strong n swift action on credible evidence. BJP defends corruption n runs away from inv.”

In a statement, AAP said, “More than five weeks after the Delhi government’s three-member committee report into the DDCA irregularities was put in public domain, the BJP and Mr Arun Jaitley have finally found time to read it and misinterpret its findings through active connivance from sections of the media. It is being fed to the media that the Delhi government’s probe report did not mention the name of Union Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley, and the BJP is trying to falsely project that the report gives him a clean chit.”

AAP leader Ashutosh said even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted that Jaitley should follow the example of L K Advani, who stepped down in the wake of hawala allegations against him, till he came out clean. “Earlier they rubbished the committee report, but now they are considering it a sacred book… The report also states that there should be a commission of inquiry into the matter.”

While the Delhi government inquiry report does not mention the name of Jaitley, who has been under opposition attack over alleged irregularities during his tenure as its chief for 13 years till 2013, the 237-page document does recommend that considering the “large number of allegations against DDCA”, the cricket body should be immediately suspended by the BCCI.

Among the irregularities it mentions are construction of corporate boxes without prior approval of authorities and complaints of forgery in age-verification certificates.

AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said, “On his blog, Jaitley says he is proud of building a world class stadium but the corruption that took place was on part of someone else?”

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