New Delhi / Mangaluru: Even as the top party leadership and Government stood strongly behind Sushma Swaraj in the #SwarajBailedLalit controversy, a senior RSS ideologue, has, off the record claimed to Newskarnataka.com that Union Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitely, is the man behind Times Now’s expose over Sushma facilitating travel documents to former IPL boss Lalit Modi.

While the union government presented to the world, a united front over the issue of ‘conflict of interest’, of Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, the RSS ideologue said ‘pre-planned’ campaign against Sushma was the result of a ‘burst of ego’ between team Modi and the Foreign Minister.

Specifically detailing the untoward move against Swaraj, the RSS leader revealed that “the fissure between Jaitely and Sushma goes back many years as there was some personal bickering involved between ‘advocate’ Jaitely and the Swaraj family.” However the leader declined to reveal details of the reasons for the chasm between them.

He said that the Foreign Minister is a loyalist of the neglected senior BJP leaders, namely L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Besides, the stance taken by team Modi in connection to The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) 2015 has miffed Swaraj. The Minister had, in internal meetings criticized the land acquisition policy of Prime Minister Modi, he added.

The RSS veteran pointed out that Swaraj has been showing resistance to the ‘disproportionate involvement’ exhibited in the day-to-day affairs of the foreign ministry.  “Though Sushma enjoys a good relationship with the Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Prime Minister, Modi has, since he has taken over the reins of govt, sought a disproportionate degree of advise in policy matters  from Jaitely.” When asked whether this negative campaign cost Sushma a plum post, he said the motto of Jaitely and his associates, is to bring in a person who listens to the Prime Minister.

The RSS leader subtly conveyed that the FM enjoys close relationship with a popular journalist working in the Times Now. Citing a recent interview of FM with two anchors of Times Now, he contended that questions were framed to the comfort of Arun Jaitely.

The views of the RSS ideologue found an echo in the tweets of the party MP from Bihar which  asked the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his opinion on what he thought of probing those who had approved the holding of IPL tournament in South Africa in 2009.

“@LalitKModi being probed by #ED. Who were d members of #BCCI #EC who approved #IPL IN #SA, Shd they 2 not be probed? What say @arunjaitley,” said Kirti Azad, a former cricketer himself, in a tweet as the controversy raged over External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj helping Lalit Modi, former IPL Commissioner, in getting him travel documents.

This tweet was preceeded by another tweet which suggested that the leaks were deliberate and the result of an internecine turf war. He referred to a ‘snake in the grass’ and also talked of a media personality being behind the conspiracy.

“#BJPs #AsteenKaSaanp & #Arnab conspire against BJP leaders. Guess the snake? I Stand With SushmaSwaraj,” he had said on Twitter.  Azad found a supporter in Shatrughan Sinha, another party MP from the Bihar.

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