I am suspended from BJP for speaking truth: Kirti Azad

Punjab News Express
AHMEDABAD: BJP MP Kirti Azad said on Wednesday that it was unfortunate he had been suspended by his party for "speaking the truth" about corruption in Delhi's cricket body.

"What anti-party activity have I done?" the three-time Lok Sabha member from Darbhanga in Bihar asked as journalists sought his reaction after the BJP announced his suspension for anti-party activities.

He said he had never targeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who for years headed the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), "although much of the wrongdoing took place during his tenure".

Jaitley headed the DDCA for 13 long years until 2013.

Azad denied he was in collusion with the Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which too have taken on Jaitley over the DDCA issue. "It is they who have taken up my issue."

The BJP on Wednesday suspended Kirti Azad, who has alleged large-scale corruption in Delhi's cricket body when it was headed by now Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Azad termed the action "unfortunate" and vowed to fight on.

"He has been suspended with immediate effect for anti-party activities," Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Anil Jain told IANS, reading out an official statement.

The action came eight years after Azad unleashed a campaign to expose what he said was massive corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which Jaitley headed for 13 years till 2013.

The action against Azad drew immediate criticism from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said the suspension had "totally exposed" the BJP. Azad has been punished for battling corruption, he said.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh demanded to know if Azad had been suspended for speaking out against corruption.

BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said the party acted against Azad, a three-time Lok Sabha member from Darbhanga in Bihar, for taking an "anti-BJP line".

Party sources said a show cause notice was issued to Azad asking him to explain his "anti-party conduct".

Azad, a member of the 1983 Indian cricket team which won the World Cup, is the first BJP MP to be suspended since Narendra Modi became the prime minister in May last year.