Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with introducing a culture of honesty in governance, and said those who cheat the country would not be able to escape and hide anywhere in the world.
Jaitley’s remarks, made in a series of tweets, came in the backdrop of the extradition of Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena and corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar to India on Thursday. The two, who are accused in the AgustaWestland bribery case, were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. A court in Delhi has remanded Saxena to four days in custody and Talwar to seven days in the directorate’s custody.
“The UPA [United Progressive Alliance] skeletons are tumbling out by the day,” Jaitley said. “Why did all defence purchases need middlemen? No one who cheats India can hide anywhere in the world and escape. India’s diplomatic strength and more civilised international procedures will get [the] better of him.”
Saxena is accused of playing a key role in laundering the money received to pay kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore-AgustaWestland helicopter scam. Talwar is accused of concealing income of more than Rs 1,000 crore as well as facilitating civil aviation contracts when the United Progressive Alliance was in power. The Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have booked him in criminal cases of corruption, while the Income Tax Department has charged him with tax evasion.
“If the prime minister is honest, if he imposes a culture of honesty in governance, no person who cheats India will escape,” said Jaitley, who is undergoing medical treatment in the United States.
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