A day after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attacked Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh over his family’s alleged foreign accounts, Punjab’s former Chief Minister on Monday hit back at BJP stalwart accusing him of trying to “avenge his humiliating defeat” in 2014 lok Sabha polls.
Capt Amarinder, also Amritsar MP, asked the senior BJP leader to “furnish the address with the proof of ownership” of properties abroad saying that he would “produce all the evidence” as how he was “trying to abuse his position” to target him.
Congress’ Deputy leader in the lok Sabha, who defeated Jaitley in 2014 General Elections from Amritsar, lashed out at him for allegedly behaving like the “spokesman of the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department and not as their boss”.
“Time, they say, is a great healer, but unfortunately nothing seems to work or heal for Jaitley,” he said, while reacting to Jaitley’s charges made during a speech in Bathinda on Sunday.
“The way Jaitley spat venom at me, has only vindicated and validated my stand that he is trying to avenge his humiliating defeat by unleashing these departments (the ED and IT) at me and my family,” said Capt Amarinder.
A day before, Jaitley, while addressing a ‘Vikas Parv’ rally in Bathinda, had stated, “I recall when there was Congress government in Punjab in 2002 led by Capt Amarinder Singh, he used to cook up stories about the Badal family, claiming that they have land in Australia, petrol pump in America, besides levelling other charges, but he failed to prove the allegations. We have found accounts of Capt Sahib’s family.”
He said: “I have firm faith in law of the land and I will produce all the evidence as how Jaitley is trying to abuse his position to target me…Immediately after taking over as the Finance Minister, he asked a senior official of the Income Tax department to ‘find something’ to fix me, which the officer refused saying there was nothing against me that can stand the legal scrutiny.”