Arun Jaitley's complicity?

This is copied from www.pgurus.com

"For the past three weeks, a huge tussle is going on between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and certain corrupt and pliant persons in the Finance Ministry under Minister Arun Jaitley. All the people in the corrupt ecosystem of Delhi are baying for the blood of ED Chief Karnal Singh and ED’s Joint Director Rajeshwar Singh after decisive action against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis scam and Congress leader Ahmed Patel linked Sterling Biotech, caught in Rs.5000 crore bank frauds.

Prime Minister Modi speaks day in and day out on acting against corruption and such questionable calls by Jaitley is creating doubts in the minds of many.

Last week the ED officer Rajeshwar Singh approached Supreme Court for protection from anonymous complaints. ED Chief Karnal Singh wrote to Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia against actions on frivolous complaintsagainst honest officers of the ED. It is reliably learnt that Adhia was forced to act on the anonymous complaints because of pressure exerted by Arun Jaitley. If this is true, then the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must explain why.
Prime Minister Modi speaks day in and day out on acting against corruption and such questionable calls by Jaitley is creating doubts in the minds of many.
Further, it is reliably learnt that many Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers are trying to pull wool over Prime Minister Modi’s eyes on actions started against Ahmed Patel, a fellow Gujarati. These officers appear to be clever with Modi while maintaining their secret links with Ahmed Patel, who used to pull the strings till May 2014.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Verma has now openly come outagainst Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana, after his name was found in the monthly payout diaries seized from Sterling Biotech. Now CBI has registered two First Information Report (FIR)s against Sterling Biotech where the first FIR mentions the role of Ahmed Patel’s son-in-law Irfan for bribing accused Income Tax officers. The second FIR is for a Rs.5000 crores bank loan fraud. It is a mystery as to how Asthana continues to be in CBI, when hisname is found in the accused company’s bribe payment diaries! Moreover, the banks under Finance Ministry have not acted on the Rs.5000 crores fraud by Ahmed Patel’s companies.

Asthana who handled Agusta Westland case has now diluted it making only Air Force officers as accused. Till date Sonia Gandhi or Ahmed Patel, the key players in the Agusta Westlandcase was not questioned by CBI, though the Italian Court judgment detailed their role. PK Mishra, the Additional Principal Secretary in PMO is behind the illegal promotion of Asthana, even after CBI Director objected. PK Mishra is also a Gujarat cadre officer and controlling all senior appointments and promotions. This veteran officer was a close confidant of Sharad Pawar and served as Agricultural Secretary during UPA tenure. It is a known secret that PK Mishra plays his own games in the everyday tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP to protect the political mileage of his old boss Pawar. The question is why Mishra is protecting Asthana, whose name was found in Ahmed Patel linked company’s diaries. Do both these Gujarat cadre officers have secret deals with Ahmed Patel?

Back to Arun Jaitley. The ED is totally under Revenue Department (always looking for new sources of revenue) in the Ministry of Finance. ED summoned Chidambaram’s son Karti in two cases and till date, he has not yet appeared. Why has Karti not been arrested? Thebuck stops with Arun Jaitley.

Why is he keeping quiet while an honest, efficient officer Rajeshwar Singh is facing hardships for attaching Karti’s properties in Aircel Maxis scam? The Income Tax  Department (ITD) is also under Arun Jaitley. On Subramanian Swamy’s complaint Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered the ITD to probe into Chidambaram family’s illegal assets in 14 countries and Karti and his firms undeclared 21 foreign bank accounts under the new Black Money andBenami Act. Modi ordered in June 2017 and till date, the ITD too has not arrested Karti.

Mr. Jaitley has much to answer – his inactions in moving against Chidambaram, son Karti, Ahmed Patel and son-in-law Irfan"

BJP in a fix

Kirti Azad has set the cat among the pigeons by questioning the goings-on in the Delhi and District Cricket Association which was under Arun Jaitley's presidentship for a long time. True to his name, the erstwhile cricketer considers himself a free bird to criticise the minister and thereby enhance his fame. It is strange that a party that promised corruption-muft rule had to suspend a parliamentarian from itself for raising issues of probity.

Arun Jaitley caused Ram Jethmalani's resignation from the Vajpayee government. Jethmalani's memory is too sharp to forget this and he is too this-worldly to forgive Jaitley. Karma bounces back sooner or later. Subramanian Swamy knows only too well that Jaitley is a buffer around Narendra Modi and that the latter is not convinced unless the former is convinced. Jaitley is an odd amalgam of arrogance and friendliness. He maintains a professional (he is an advocate of no mean repute) self-righteous and all-knowing exterior even as he deliberately and perhaps purposefully abstains from going after the corrupt. Swamy is not known to have any consideration for those aborting his moves.

Narendra Modi, perhaps egged on by Jaitley, has contemptuously sidelined the Margdarshak Mandal seniors like L.K.Advani. Advani continues to be bitter that Modi usurped primeministership which the former thought was his historically. It may be obvious to the bystander that the BJP under Advani could not have romped home in the 2014 elections. It is too difficult for the passionately attached (to power) to see the obvious. So leaders like Advani seize every opportunity to embarrass Modi and his present cronies.

K.P.S.Gill has accused Jaitley of misuse of power as DDCA President to further his daughter's legal-professional interest. In these circumstances, it will be befitting if Jaitley resigns his ministership and upholds probity in public life. His stature will get enhanced if an impartial enquiry gives him a clean chit. Any enquiry while he continues to be a minister may not appear to be fair. Though there are no allegations that Jaitley misused power for gathering pelf for self, his inability to ensure probity in DDCA is a grave enough charge that requires Jaitley to establish exculpatory evidence. Exercise of self-denial of ministership till his innocence is firmly established is expected of him.

Modi may find it difficult to find a suitable successor to Jaitley as Finance Minister though some may argue that Jaitley was not a good choice after all as FM. Such existential compulsions should not deter Modi from proving that he is not one to tolerate any deviation from the straight and lonely path. Will Jaitley and Modi rise to the occasion?

It is true that Sonia Gandhi continues as Congress President despite the bunch of inculpatory evidences against her in the National Herald case. But is she worthy of emulation ?

Arun Jaitley's intemperate comment

Arun Jaitley who is the Finance Minister and not the Law Minister is pained by the Supreme Court decision on NJAC. He has referred to the basic structure of the Constitution, tyranny of the unelected and credibility of government appointees and in the process he is hoist with his own petard.

1) Basic Structure: Jaitley's argument is that the court is concerned only with one structure namely independence of the judiciary and the court has 'rubbished' five other basic structures namely parliamentary democracy, elected government, council of ministers, elected prime minister and elected leader of opposition.
Here the minister has mischievously interpreted the judgment as an assault on the parliament and the government whereas the judgment is primarily a reiteration of judicial independence. It is unreasonable for the executive to poke its nose into judiciary and claim it as a Constitutional right.
Is the minister arguing that whatever is done by the executive or the legislature, the judiciary should only silently watch? Is not interpretation of law the sole prerogative of the judiciary?

2) Elected and unelected: Judiciary, executive and legislature have their respective domains. Being elected does not bestow any extraordinary status. Unelected does not mean subordinate. The fact that Arun Jaitley lost in the parliamentary election does not demean him anyway. It is not prudent on his part to rake up this needless controversy.

3) Credibility of government appointees: Jaitley argues that government appointees like CAG and Election Commissioners are credible. Has he forgotten the issues raised by him when a particular person was appointed as CVC?

The government has every right to appeal against the judgment. But it has no right to decry it in a controversial manner. If the government wants the Supreme Court to support whatever it does, it means that the government is not in favour of independent judiciary. That indeed is the issue here.