Jaitley defends finance ministry officials amid fresh Swamy barbs

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley defended key policy makers for the second time in 24 hours on Thursday as BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy continued

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley defended key policy makers for the second time in 24 hours on Thursday as BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy continued his tirade against top civil servants, embarrassing the Narendra Modi government.

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“An unfair and false attack on a disciplined civil servant in the finance ministry,” Jaitley tweeted, hours after his party’s Rajya Sabha member flung corruption allegations at economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das on Twitter.

“I think there (is) a property deal case pending against him for assisting PC (former finance minister P Chidambaram) swallow Mahabalipuram prime locations,” Swamy tweeted after a follower, @Proud_Indian, suggested it was time to send the IAS officer back to the Tamil Nadu cadre.

The Twitter tirade signalled an escalation in Swamy’s offensive against top finance ministry of ficials despite Jaitley defending civil servants and expressing “full confidence” in chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian a day before.

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