Arun Jaitley dismisses reports of use of naval chopper by family

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today dismissed media reports that his wife and daughter used a naval helicopter in Goa on December 23.

Media reports had claimed that Jaitley's wife and daughter were flown by a naval helicopter, made available at the instance of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, from Dambolin Airport resort to Cancona in south Goa.

In his Facebook post headlined "Perils of Falsehood", Jaitley said, "The news item is entirely false on three counts: Firstly, it was my wife and son (not my daughter) who were in Goa on December 23.

"Secondly, they did not use any governmental facility, least of all a naval helicopter. Thirdly, Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister, had not sanctioned the use of any Defence helicopter for them. In fact, since it was purely a private visit, Manohar Parrikar was not even aware of the fact that they were in Goa."

The Minister said that no activist has a right to "invent falsehood" and then publicise it over the social media and demanded the media organisations tender an apology and express regret over the same."