Aircel-Maxis case: Nobody will be spared if found guilty, says Arun Jaitley
The finance minister said 'a lot of incriminating things have been seized' as a result of a series of raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up the debate on the Aircel-Maxis case amid loud protests from Congress MPs, who said it wasn't on the agenda. Addressing the house, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said "a lot of incriminating things have been seized" as a result of a series of raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department. "Nobody, howsoever important, will be spared if found guilty," he said, adding, "We have no holy cows to protect."
This comes a day after members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday disrupted both houses of Parliament, protesting against Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti's alleged involvement in the scam. Recent raids by the Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate revealed that Karti Chidambaram acquired huge amounts of money while his father P Chidambaram was a Union minister between 2006 and 2014.
The clearance that Malaysian company Maxis Communication got from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to acquire Aircel shares was also illegal. Most financial transactions relating to the acquisition were overseen by a Singapore-based company that Karti Chidambaram owns.