Congress damaged all institutions of India, says Arun Jaitley

From Parliament to the Election Commission to the CBI, the Congress has singularly damaged all the premier institutions of India, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday while giving a clarion call to protect the country from 'institution wreckers'. Jaitley, who on Saturday returned to India after his treatment in the United States, put out a hard-hitting post on Facebook, accusing the grand-old party of launching 'fake campaigns' against the defence forces, judiciary and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the last few months.

Titled 'Institutions Under Attack - The Latest Fabrication', the post starts with the criticism of Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his significant role in disrupting the parliament proceedings at 11:00 am every morning and also accused the opposition of spreading lies over Rafale on a personal hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a veiled attack at the Congress for organising loot on the banks between 2008-2014, Jaitley said the party is now alleging that industrial loans had been waived. "Not a single rupee was waived. On the contrary, the defaulters have been thrown out of management and Congress's falsehood was exposed," he wrote.

Stating that the government has consistently maintained an arm's length distance with the Election Commission, he said the attack on the EVMs is not merely to allay defeat, it is an attack on the commission.

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Moving on to the Opposition's attempt to raise serious doubts on the credibility of the Indian Armed Forces, the BJP leader said, "It is the Opposition which questioned first the existence of the surgical strike and then played it down as a routine action which has also taken place in the past".

"The Army Chief was described as a 'Sadak ka Gunda'. Serious doubts have been raised on the Air Force led choice of the combat aircraft Rafale and its negotiation process. In the face of all this, they allege that institutions are under attack by the Government would be a mockery?" Jaitley went on to claim further.

Jaitley, who is currently minister without portfolio, also gave a mention to the high-octane political drama over the appointment of new CBI director in the last few months. "Restoring the credibility of an investigative agency is strengthening the institution and not assaulting it," the Union Minister said.

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The blog, which is divided into sub-heads, in its last stanza, also accused the Opposition of maintaining a two-way approach to the CBI, saying "the CBI should be attacked when it investigates corruption but if the Government takes action to restore the credibility of the CBI, the Government should be put in the dock".

On CBI vs Mamata face-off in Kolkata, Jaitley said, "In West Bengal, democracy is seriously under peril. BJP leaders can’t land, public meetings are being prevented and the Rath Yatra was disallowed".

Talking about the recently concluded Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Jaitley said the Congress had aligned with the Maoist in the Chhattisgarh elections and was always in the forefront of defending the urban Naxals in court.

Jaitley ends his blog with an appeal to millions of Indians to protect India and its institutions from these ‘institution wreckers’.