Jaitley must quit or be sacked, says Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must resign or be sacked in view of the "very serious allegations" against him.

"Can Jaitley-ji's denial in press be taken as gospel truth? Very serious allegations against him. Why is he running away from investigations?" the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader asked in a tweet.

"If Jaitley-ji were (to be) let off without investigations on (the) basis of his press denial, then should all coal and 2G accused also be similarly let off?"

"Allegations against Jaitley-ji are very, very serious. Amounts involved are huge. He should either resign or be removed to enable (an) independent probe," Kejriwal added.

Kejriwal's comments followed Jaitley's defence of himself and of the BJP's support to the central minister after the AAP flung corruption allegations against him vis-a-vis the Delhi cricket association.

Jaitley had headed the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for years.

Former cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi joined the anti-Jaitley chorus, asking if it was all hunky-dory in the DDCA, "then why did the court order the fourth Test (between India and South Africa to be) administered by Justice Mudgal? Could someone please educate me kindly!"

Kejriwal, who re-tweeted Bedi's remark, said: "Good Point."

Bedi went on: "Also, if the DDCA house was in order with no corruption, then why did BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) stop all payment to DDCA and why was incumbent president of DDCA sacked?" Kejriwal again re-tweeted and said: "Agree."

Quoting a news report on BJP general secretary Ram Lal allegedly asking party parliamentarian Kirti Azad not to comment on the DDCA issue, Kejriwal asked, "Is this true? Why is BJP trying to cover up Jaitley-ji's corruption?"