Did not get any concrete proposal from Centre on Feroz Shah Kotla, says Arun Jaitley

The finance minister said since there was no firm proposal from the government, the association decided to build the stadium on resources it mobilised on its own.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) did not receive any “concrete proposal” from the NDA government to fund the construction of Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, if it was named after Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

The AAP leaders had accused Jaitley of irregularities in Delhi and District Cricket Association during his tenure as its president. (File Photo)

Jaitley made the remark while appearing before the high court in a defamation case he had filed against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries.

The AAP leaders had accused Jaitley of irregularities in DDCA during his tenure as its president.

Joint registrar Deepali Sharma, who was hearing the case, disallowed several questions posed by senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who is representing Kejriwal, to Jaitley including one that tried to drag in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On the issue of funding and naming the stadium, Jaitley said since there was no “firm proposal” from the government, the association decided to build the stadium on resources it mobilised on its own.

“A self-funded stadium is in the larger interest of sports bodies,” Jaitley said.

Jethmalani also made the allegation that Rs 57 crore had been misappropriated and shown as expenses during Jaitley’s tenure.

Jaitley said: “The assets created by this expenditure factually exist at the site.”