BJP unhappy with Swamy's remarks on Jaitley

The BJP has taken a serious view of its Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy's implicit attack on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and is likely to strongly convey to him to be restrained in his comments pertaining to party leaders and government officials, party sources said.

A party office bearer said the leadership has taken dim view of Swamy's remarks pertaining to Jaitley and government officials and regards these as "indiscipline."

"The party is not happy with the remarks of Swamy. Despite advice to the contrary, he is targeting party leaders and government functionaries," said the office bearer, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"The remarks amount to indiscipline and the party would not tolerate it further," he added.

Another party leader said that party chief Amit Shah could talk to Swamy over the next few days.

He said that Swamy may have come to the Rajya Sabha on the backing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh but the organisation does not favour personalised attacks.

Swamy on Friday made an implicit attack on Jaitley and criticized those "giving me unasked for advice of discipline."

"People giving me unasked for advice of discipline and restraint don't realise that if I disregard discipline, there would be a bloodbath," Swamy tweeted.

Though the MP did not name Jaitley, his tweet followed Jaitley's public admonition of Swamy after the latter called for the sacking of Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.

Jaitley had said: "The party has said it doesn't share Swamy's view. I will also add one more fact from the point of view of discipline of Indian politicians... to what extent should we attack those, the discipline and constraint of whose offices prevent them from responding and this has happened more than once."

In another tweet on Friday, Swamy urged the BJP leadership to ask ministers to wear traditional Indian clothes when they go abroad.

"BJP should direct our ministers to wear traditional and modernised Indian clothes while abroad. In coat and tie they look like waiters," he wrote.

Jaitley's photographs of meeting with the Bank of China Chairman in Beijing in a lounge suit appeared in several newspapers on Friday morning.

Swamy had on Thursday also targeted Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and Jaitley had strongly backed the official.

--IANS

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