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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday raised five questions for finance minister Arun Jaitley over its continued allegations of misappropriation of funds during Jaitley’s tenure as the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
Calling Jaitley “a master of half-truths and beautiful lies” at a press conference, AAP leader Ashutosh cited a letter written by former cricketer and BJP member Kirti Azad addressed to Jaitley on September 13 this year, saying that illegal corporate boxes were constructed.
Ashutosh alleged that the company 21st Century – which AAP claims is close to Jaitley and his family -- was paid a commission of Rs 5.5 crore to illegally sublease these boxes.
The allegations come just a day after AAP called a press conference to attack Jaitley, stating that fake companies had been created to siphon money from the DDCA during his tenure as the cricketing body’s president for more than a decade. Jaitley was in-charge of the DDCA for 13 years till December, 2013.
The party also alleged there were irregularities in team selection in that time.
AAP also cited the construction of a stadium for which a budget of Rs 24 crore was decided, but the expense shown was allegedly Rs 114 crore, raising questions over the difference of Rs 90 crore.
Ashutosh said of the Rs 114 crore allegedly spent, Engineers India Private Limited (EIPL) was given Rs 57 crore. The remaining was given to 14 companies, some of which allegedly had close tie-ups with DDCA officials.
In a Facebook post, Jaitley reiterated that he was cleared of the charges during the UPA time and that “no personal allegation was ever made” against him. While AAP claimed that their evidence was sourced from public domain, political commentators claimed AAP was regurgitating charges that have been in the public domain for a long time now.
The CBI had on Tuesday raided the offices of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s secretary Rajender Kumar, a move that AAP claimed was a cover for an attempt to take files linked to the alleged DDCA corruption.
“BJP asked Manmohan Singh to resign over collective responsibility. We demand that Modi remove his corrupt minister,” said AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said on Thursday.
