BJP disowns Swamy's attack on CEA

'Party does not agree with his views...it is his opinion'

Outspoken BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s attack on key Modi government officials is beginning to hurt,  with the ruling party again distancing itself from his latest diatribe against Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian.

In a series of tweets, Rajya Sabha MP Swamy, who had earlier criticised  RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s fiscal handling and was openly against government giving him a second term,  sought Arvind Subramanian’s “sacking”.

Swamy charged that the CEA “encouraged opposition party Congress to become rigid on GST clauses” – an economic reform enabling legislation that the government has not been able to get passage in Parliament.  “This joker CEA also wrote oped against Gujarat model and talked nonsense about beef ban when it is not even required,” was another acerbic post of the BJP leader.

When asked to react on Swamy’s new target, BJP general secretary Shrikant Sharma said "the party does not agree with his views. This is completely his personal opinion".

Later, finance minister Arun Jaitley, who has consistently come under Swamy’s attack, came to the defence of Arvind Subramanian.

Senior Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, however, did not outrightly condemn Swamy's act. "Party has not said anything. Government has not said anything...the question is that you cannot gag everybody in democracy. If party says anything then I can react, if government says anything then I can react on that," Naidu said. Party sources said the BJP is finding Swamy’s rants and campaign against its own people uncomfortable to handle as they also provide fodder to opposition to embarrass the Modi government. 

Capitalising on the opportunity, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said, “Subramanian Swamy now guns for Arvind Subramanian, Economic Adviser to NDA. Target is Arun Jaitley not Arvind Subramanian”.

However, Swamy’s aggressive verbal assault on the Gandhis and former finance minister P Chidambaram inside and outside Parliament is not out of sync with the BJP, added party sources.

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah had to clarify that Swamy’s repeated targeting of Raghuram Rajan did not enjoy the party backing.