Arun Jaitley upset with Swamy, to seek intervention from BJP

The BJP is allegedly divided into two camps, one backing Jaitley and the other wanting to settle scores.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seems to be quite unhappy with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s attacks on him. Jaitley is likely to intensify efforts to ensure he and his ministry are not subjected to further attacks by Swamy, when he returns from his China visit on Monday.

According to a report in The Indian Express, a Jaitley aide says that Swamy’s Twitter attacks cannot be dismissed as an independent voice because he is a member of the party.

Read: Arun Jaitley snubs Swamy, backs CEA Arvind Subramanian

Swamy has continued to target Jaitley despite the latter publicly disapproving of his attacks on Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das as well as RBI chief Raghuram Rajan.

Some in the BJP feel that Swamy has undermined Jaitley’s position through his relentless attacks, and therefore action must be taken against the 76-year-old former Janata Party leader.

But according to the report, others see this as an opportunity to settle old scores with Arun Jaitley. Either way, no BJP leader has publicly come forward to criticise Swamy. Thus the party has distanced itself from Swamy’s remarks, but no concrete action has been taken.

Read: 'Arun Jaitley looks exceptional in a coat', says Subramanian Swamy

The party camp sympathetic to Jaitley considers Swamy’s politics to be ‘toxic’ and feels that Jaitley is being left high and dry once again. The first time this happened was in December 2015 when Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal targeted Jaitley over corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Administration (DDCA). But the anti-Jaitley camp finds Swamy a “useful tool” to settle scores with the Finance Minister.

The Prime Minister’s Office is said to have taken cognisance of Subramanian Swamy’s Twitter attacks, but neither PM Narendra Modi nor any PMO official has issued a formal statement yet.

(This story originally appeared in the deccan Chronicle as may the case be)