New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a defamation suit against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and sought Rs.10 crore in damages for accusing him of corruption when he headed the DDCA. Kejriwal retorted that he and his Aam Aadmi Party cannot be intimidated.
Even as a combative Jaitley defended himself in parliament against the corruption charges, fellow BJP MP Kirti Azad, who has been alleging major financial bungling in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for years, demanded to know why the minister had not sued him.
The Delhi High Court said it would hear on Tuesday the defamation suit slapped against Kejriwal, who took on Jaitley from the day the CBI raided his principal secretary Rajendra Kumar for alleged corruption. Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani will defend Kejriwal in the Delhi High Court.
“He (Jethmalani) will appear for Kejriwal and other AAP leaders in the Delhi High Court,” a government source said on Monday.
Jaitley also reached the Patiala House Court in the company of several party leaders and ministers where, as his supporters raised slogans in his support, he filed a criminal defamation complaint against Kejriwal and AAP leaders including Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh.
Advocate Sidharth Luthra said: “No member of the family of Jaitley is involved in any capacity with the companies involved in the DDCA case.” Even as BJP president Amit Shah defended Jaitley, saying he was respected for his honesty and integrity, Kirti Azad demanded a time-bound probe by a court-monitored Special Investigation Team into the DDCA affairs. (IANS)
