In a carefully worded statement, Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley on Monday defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's reported no-show before the Special Investigation Team on Sunday.
"In the past few days, vested interests have been circulating incorrect information that the SIT has summoned Modi on March 21," said Jaitley.
"There has been no direct or indirect request made by the SIT to appear on March 21. The entire debate that he has shown disrespect to the Constitutional body is incorrect. The CM will fully comply, and has been complying, to his constitutional and legal obligations and will appear before the SIT when they fix up a time," said Jaitley.
He added, "In the last eight years, numerous campaigns have been launched to malign Modiji and his government without any basis. Who invented the date that misled the media to believe that the SC-appointed SIT had summoned Modi on March 21, is not known."
He reiterated, "We will go (before the SIT) when decided. We will give full respect and dignity to the Constitutionally-appointed entity."
Incidentally, the controversial Gujarat CM on Monday released a letter addressed to the nation, in which he slammed media reports about his failure to appear before the SIT on March 21, terming it a 'systematic campaign to defame Gujarat through propagation of false reports'.
This is the first time Modi has made a direct address to the entire nation, not only to the state of Gujarat, and this may be one of the first steps of the BJP leader's efforts to be considered as a national politician, not merely a regional one.
In his letter, Modi promises to 'respond to the SIT fully respecting the law and keeping in view the dignity of a body appointed by the Supreme Court', but never clearly states that he will appear before the SIT when called to do so.
