Swamy backs Kirti Azad, questions BJP decision

BJP on Wednesday afternoon suspended its MP from Bihar, Kirti Azad, for flouting party chief Amit Shah and publicly targeting Union finance minister Arun Jaitley with allegations of corruption in Delhi’s cricket body.

Azad was speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad during a two-day visit for “personal business meetings”.

The Congress attacked the BJP over suspension of Kirti Azad, saying that it was an illustration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dictatorial style of functioning. “In all fairness and in keeping with the tenets of equity, I look forward to being provided an opportunity to clear my name on the serious charges of having acted against the party’s interests”, Azad said in his letter sent to Shah. “There are allegations of a cricket scam… his own MP said that there is corruption and there should be a probe but the Prime Minister, who used to speak about going tough on corruption, is completely silent today”, he said.

The constitution of the Margdarshak Mandal a year ago was seen as a move by the current BJP leadership to sideline the veterans, who have been denied an active role in the party’s affairs.

Kirti Azad has been suspended from the BJP by party President Amit Shah.

Azad has for years carried on a campaign against what he calls major corruption in the DDCA, which was headed by Jaitley for 13 years until 2013.

Sources said Advani drove down to Joshi’s residence and Kumar and Sinha joined them at noon for a meeting that lasted about an hour. We also talk about walking the path of Mahatma Gandhi.

Darbhanga MP Azad was expelled from the BJP following his tirade against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in connection with irregularities in the DDCA.

Reiterating that the issue of corruption in the Delhi cricket body was old, Azad denied that he had teamed up with the Congress or the AAP. Azad also said that he will file a PIL in his individual capacity over the DDCA issue soon.

The other members of the Marg Darshak Mandal are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and home minister Rajnath Singh. Sources said the leaders thought Azad’s suspension will do the BJP “more harm than good”.

He asked village heads to raise their voice against cancellation of food park and paper mill projects in Amethi and said Congress wanted all welfare schemes of the Centre and the state to be implemented through gram pradhans. He is still a BJP member. The veterans reportedly feel that suspending the MP when he is talking against corruption may prove counter-productive for the party.