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The BJP's defence of NDA convenor George Fernandes has been rather low key, but the party's general secretary Arun Jaitley says the BJP will stand by him.
Neither former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee nor LK Advani have spoken out yet in support of Fernandes following the CBI naming him in an FIR regarding corruption in the Rs 1,150-crore Barak deal with an Israeli firm in 2000.
Jaitley, however, said "senior BJP leaders have discussed the matter. We will stand by him. We will study the FIR. The honesty and integrity of Fernandes cannot be questioned."
Fernandes has been close to Vajpayee and Advani since the days of the emergency but, of late, the BJP has been distancing itself from his problems with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal(United) chief Sharad Yadav.
Though Fernandes remains NDA convenor, the BJP believes that, sooner or later, he will join the Samajwadi Party at the invitation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "Only this morning I spoke to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. They wanted Fernandes to be strongly defended. The party is convinced of his integrity." |
