BJP slams Kejriwal for attacking Jaitley

The ruling party at the Centre said that the Delhi CM was using jewellers as a 'political tool' & has little concern for their demands

BJP on Sunday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for attacking Arun Jaitley over the excise duty on non-silver jewellery, saying the AAP leader's comments were a result of the Finance Minister's defamation suit filed against him.

The ruling party at the Centre also said the Delhi Chief Minister was using jewellers as a "political tool" and has little concern for their demands.

"Jaitley has filed a Rs 10-crore defamation case against him. These remarks are a result of that frustration," BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma said here.

He said the AAP Convenor was using jewellers as a "political tool" to further his interests.

"Efforts have been made to address the concerns of the jewellers honestly. They have been assured that officials will not harass them in the name of excise duty," he said.

Sharma said the Delhi Chief Minister has failed on "all fronts" and has been unable to check the spread of dengue last year, which resulted in several deaths.

"He claims to be heading aam aadmi's government. In reality, he is anti-poor. The prices of petrol and diesel have been reduced by the Centre in the recent past. But the AAP government has not passed on the benefits to the people of Delhi," he said.

Taking a dig at ruling BJP over excise duty on non-silver jewellery, Kejriwal today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "leave" Jaitley's side if he did not want to lose the support of traders.

Gold traders, jewellers and artisans have been observing strike since March 2, demanding roll-back of the budgetary proposal that has impacted the trade.