DDCA case: PM Narendra Modi's L K Advani-parallel a nudge for Arun Jaitley to quit, says opposition

NEW DELHI: Congress and CPM on Tuesday demanded that Arun Jaitley resign following allegations of financial irregularities in DDCA under his watch, while claiming that PM Modi had actually dropped a hint at the finance minister to quit by drawing a parallel with L K Advani in the Jain hawala case.

Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Today , I heard the PM saying that Jaitley will come out of this like L K Advani in the Jain hawala case. I will remind Jaitley that Advani had then resigned and had not come back till he got clean chit. So, the PM seems to be telling Jaitley that he should not continue as finance minister till he gets cleared."

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury echoed him, saying, "By drawing a parallel with Advani, the PM is giving a hint to Jaitley that he should resign, get himself cleared and come back. I read it as a signal to Jaitley that you also do the same thing." He wondered why the PM suddenly remembered Advani when Jaitley was in trouble.

Congress sharpened its attack on Jaitley for the second consecutive day after spokesman P L Punia on Monday demanded an SIT probe into the alleged DDCA scam. Besides protests in Parliament, Congress held a press conference on the issue, showing the leadership's hand in the escalation.

"Under such circumstances, it will be fit and appropriate that Jaitley steps down till a fair probe is concluded into the affairs of DDCA," Azad and deputy opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said, underlining that agencies which would be in volved in the DDCA probe report to the finance minister.

The BJP dismissed such claims. "There is no parallel between charges against Ad vani and Jaitley. The CBI had registered a case, launched a criminal investigation and Ad vani quit on moral grounds.There is no criminal probe against Jaitley," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Congress demanded that sports bodies be brought under the ambit of RTI Act, with Azad blaming Jaitley for their exclusion from the transparency law.