Jaitley will come out with flying colours: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday supported Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and said the latter will come out of DDCA corruption charges with "flying colours", a senior minister said.

"Arun Jaitley will come out with flying colours in the same manner as (senior BJP leader) L.K. Advani did in the hawala case... the Congress is raking up manufactured allegations to defame the (BJP-led) government," Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu quoted Modi as saying at a BJP parliamentary party meeting.

"They tried the same with Sushma-ji, Vasundhara-ji and Shivraj-ji... they (the

Congress) only want to defame the government," Modi was quoted as saying.

BJP MP Kirti Azad, who has levelled corruption charges again Jaitley, did not attend the meeting.

Azad told reporters he could not attend the meeting due to "prior engagement" and did not boycott the meeting.

Jaitley has denied corruption charges levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress regarding the DDCA, which he headed for 13 years till 2013.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje were targetted by the opposition in the past over their alleged help to and financial dealings respectively with former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's resignation was sought in the wake of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board scam, popularly known as Vyapam scam.