Subramanian Swamy to help Kirti Azad draft reply to BJP’s suspension notice
Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad will take help from Subramanian Swamy to draft his response to the party’s suspension notice.
“Have received notice, will respond to it. Subramanian Swamy has told me that he will help me in drafting reply to the notice,” Mr. Azad told the media in Ahmedabad.
Mr. Azad was suspended from the party late on Wednesday evening for “anti-party activities”. He had been alleging “corruption” in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was heading it. He continued to speak on the matter despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah backing Mr. Jaitley.
Dr. Swamy confirmed to The Hindu that he would assist Mr. Azad.
“I confirm that I will assist Kirti Azad on the draft notice from the party. I know him since he was a boy; I was a good friend of his father,” he said. “Further, I will say that he is still a member of the BJP. I have every right to assist him. I don’t think the party should lose such an honest person as him.”
Mr. Azad continued to be defiant despite saying that he had “great respect” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he would seek support from the Marg Darshak Mandal of the BJP, which meant a tacit appeal to party elders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi – now no longer active in the party’s decision-making — to take a stand in his support.
He sought to know the precise charges against him, saying that he would continue to tell the “truth”.
“I want to know specifically the charges which are levelled against me. I want to know what are the anti-parties activities that I have done in the last few months. This is a matter of serious corruption and I have fought against it for the last nine months. I have not joined hands with AAP or Congress,” he was quoted by ANI as saying. “I have great respect for Modiji and full faith in him. I hope the Prime Minister will listen to my plea and do justice. I would also ask the ‘Marg Darshak Mandal’ to come forward and look into this issue.”
“I would want Modiji to look into this and tell me what my fault is, I want specific answers. I want to know if I have been suspended because I raised voice against corruption in DDCA,” Mr. Azad said. “If saying the truth is a crime, then I will keep committing this crime,” he asserted.
DDCA Scam
- What – The AAP alleged huge financial irregularities in DDCA during Arun Jaitley’s 13 year-old tenure as its chief, saying large amounts were siphoned off through fake companies besides other irregularities including in team selection.
- When – BJP MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad had earlier in 2014 alleged irregularities in the functioning of DDCA. The Delhi government had set up a committee to inquire the alleged DDCA scam after they received several complaints.
- Who – The AAP is demanding an investigation against Mr. Jaitley and other office-bearers of the DDCA. Mr. Jaitley was the patron-in-chief of the DDCA until December 2014.
- Then – Delhi’s ruling party alleged that the CBI raid on Arvind Kejriwal’s top officer Rajendra Kumar was linked to a DDCA file in the Chief Minister’s office.
