NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a defamation suit in the Patiala House court against AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, Ashutosh and Deepak Bajpayee seeking Rs 10 crore damage for indulging in slander and baseless allegations against him over alleged irregularities in the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association ( DDCA ).

Jaitley also filed a criminal defamation complaint against them in the Patiala House court seeking their prosecution under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

Arun Jaitley said in his defamation suit that "such false/malicious and defamatory campaign/propaganda against the plaintiff and his family members is a counter-blast to a CBI search of a bureaucrat in the secretariat of the Government of NCT Delhi on 15.12.2015.".

The AAP government on Sunday ordered a commission of inquiry under Gopal Subramaniam to probe alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

Jaitley is viewing Subramaniam's appointment as head of the probe panel as a clear intent of the Kejriwal government's bellicosity. Subramaniam, who was solicitor general under the UPA regime, was recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as a judge of the apex court just days before the UPA government's term came to an end last year.

Subramaniam has been appearing for and advising the Delhi government on its several run-ins with the Centre over jurisdictional issues. When the city government and the Centre were locked in a standoff over who had the jurisdiction to appoint and transfer officials in Delhi, Subramaniam had endorsed AAP's view that this power vested with the chief minister and not the lieutenant governor.

Moreover, sources said the Delhi government doesn't have the power to order a commission of inquiry as it vests with the Centre. Also, sources said DDCA was registered as a company under the Companies Act its matters come under the Registrar of Companies.

DDCA has leased the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and so it is answerable also to the Union urban development ministry.

Govt rules out Jaitley's resignation over DDCA issue

Meanwhile, the government on Monday categorically ruled out resignation of finance minister Arun Jaitley over allegations of corruption in DDCA which he headed till 2013, as Congress member disrupted proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.

"No one will resign," minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said as slogan-shouting Congress members demanded Jaitley's resignation.

No one will resign over "false charges" levelled against them, he asserted.

But Congress members continued to shout slogans, forcing two adjournments in the pre-noon session.

(With inputs from agencies)

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