Don't threaten us with lawsuits: Kejriwal to Jaitley

A defiant Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party will not be scared by civil and criminal defamation suits against him and five other party leaders by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and asked him to prove his innocence before the inquiry commission.

Kejriwal suggested that Jaitley should instead cooperate with the commission of inquiry formed by the Delhi government to probe the alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association.

"Jaitley should not try to scare us by filing cases against us. Our battle against corruption shall continue. Jaitleyji should cooperate with the commission of inquiry and prove his innocence there," Kejriwal tweeted.

Jaitley filed both civil and criminal defamation cases against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders on Monday for allegedly defaming him and sought Rs 10 crore in damages and their prosecution for offences that entails a punishment of up to two years in jail.

The chief minister's decision to brazen it out became clear on Sunday night itself as the other AAP leaders named by Jaitley in his defamation suit had stuck to their guns and continued to target the finance minister.

"Setting aside his ministerial responsibilities, Jaitleyji is making the rounds of the courts. But we won’t let the matter get buried this time around. We will continue to hold him corrupt in the DDCA affairs," AAP leader Sanjay Singh said.

Jaitley should not 'threaten' us with jail and should instead focus on replying to the specific queries raised by us, party leader Ashutosh said.

The finance minister has rubbished the allegations of irregularities against him and his family.

Kejriwal and the five AAP leaders have publicly been making allegations against Jaitley with regard to the DDCA affairs although some of the allegations have gone beyond that.

Top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back, accusing the AAP of attempting to reduce the stature of Jaitley in public life and hailed the finance minister for maintaining an 'impeccable standard of probity'.

"AAP is using the route of defaming him (Jaitley) and his family members through press conferences and social media," Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Jaitley's junior in the information and broadcasting ministry, said.