Jaitley says "kleptocrat’s club" wants to capture power

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday slammed the Opposition parties for supporting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's sit-in protest against the Centre, describing them as a 'Kleptocrat's Club' that aspires to capture the reigns of India.

Jaitley also dubbed Banerjee's sit-in protest in Kolkata as a “disproportionate overreaction” that was an attempt to “defocus” other aspirants and project herself as the nucleus of India's Opposition.

Slamming the Banerjee's supporters, the Union Minister said they themselves were battling serious economic improprieties, criminal misconduct and even corruption allegations.

“Can 'new India' be ever run by this Kleptocrat's Club,” Jaitley asked.

“Most of them, or their affiliates are today being investigated, prosecuted and in some cases have also been convicted for crimes of corruption. Her ally from Bihar represents the party of the convicted. The friend from Andhra Pradesh runs a party of contractors, 'thekedaars' and money-launderers,” he said in an article circulated by the BJP.

“Her two friends from Uttar Pradesh represent the scandalous legacy of corruption. Her anarchic brother from the Delhi government is at his wit end because the penny stock companies of his ministerial colleagues have been found out,” he said referring to RJD's Lalu Prasad, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Jaitley described Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the “somersaulter” who initially saw Saradha as a “scam” and now had extended “shoulder-to-shoulder” support to a “scamster”.

“This somersaulter belongs to the first family of the Congress Party where most members of the family are on bail,” Jaitley said.

The Union Minister said Banerjee's strategy in inviting all other Opposition leaders to join her protest in Kolkata was to defocus from other opposition aspirants for the highest office and to project herself as the nucleus of India's Opposition.

“Her speeches attack Prime Minister Modi but her strategy is aimed to defocus some of her other colleagues in the Opposition and hogging the centre stage,” he said.

He said that the West Bengal chit fund fraud was unearthed in 2012-13 and its investigations were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation by the Supreme Court.

“If a police officer is required to be interrogated, how does it become a 'super emergency', 'assault on Federalism', or 'destruction of Institutions,” he asked.

Jaitley justified the CBI action, saying the Constitutional framework clearly defined the sharing of functions between the Centre and the state and did not permit an overlap.