Kirti to Shah: Why no DDCA mention?

Azad earlier said he would respond to the suspension notice today with the help of party leader Subramanian Swamy.

Azad had also dared Jaitley to sue him for defamation after the Finance Minister chose to file civil and criminal cases against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for slander.

The old guards met at Murli Manohar Joshi’s residence a day after Kirti Azad was suspended by BJP. A BJP leader, Srikant Sharma, told the media that the party “respected the senior leaders”.

Hence, the mood at Thursday’s meeting was more one of resignation, that anything they might say was unlikely to have an impact. “(Let Modi reply to the issue now)”, the Amethi MP said.

“What happened in DDCA from 1999-2013 should be investigated by a Joint Parliamentary Committee”, it said. There was concern about the possibility that people might perceive the suspension to be intolerance towards whistleblowers.

Speaking with CNN-IBN’s Bhupendra Chaubey over the phone, Azad made some damning allegations against Finance Minister Arun Jaitely. Emerging from the meeting, Kumar said, “We keep meeting over tea and nothing specific was discussed”, but interestingly added, “it’s unfortunate that politics has come down to allegations and counter-allegations”.

In a statement, the party said Azad had been suspended with immediate effect for “anti-party activities”. And disregarding a reported request from BJP president Amit Shah, Azad held a press conference to expose the alleged wrongdoings in the DDCA on Sunday. The veterans reportedly feel that suspending the MP when he is talking against corruption may prove counter-productive for the party.

BJP veterans meet amid disquiet on Azad suspension, Advani authorized to write to PM and express anguish.

Congress spokesman Gaurav Gogoi also tweeted: “Where is zero tolerance against corruption?”

Gandhi also demanded that the prime minister order a probe into the affairs of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

Azad further questioned the BJP by asking that if he was suspended for raising his voice against corruption in the DDCA when it was headed by Jaitley. Rahul, who led the opposition attack against the NDA government within and outside Parliament, said only his party was fighting strongly against BJP on the price front.