New Delhi: The damning letter on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sent by his party's Jayanthi Natarajan exposes that the government led by their party was "a practitioner of a sadistic economy" and "guilty of crony capitalism" said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today.
In her letter - reported first by the newspaper The Hindu - Ms Natarajan informs Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that her son's "specific requests" determined whether several big industrial projects were granted clearances by the Environment Ministry, which Ms Natarajan headed till she was asked to resign in December 2013.
Ms Natarajan alleges that this interference by Mr Gandhi resulted in her being made the scapegoat for the government's failed attempts to revive the inert economy.
The Finance Minister said that Ms Natarajan's revelations prove that the government she belonged to ensured that the country's economy suffered and "projects worth lakhs and lakhs of crores were held up because of "the whims and fancies of individual leaders."
For hours after the news break about Ms Natarajan's letter and her decision to quit the Congress, the party's spokespersons were unavailable for comment. Then Sanjay Nirupam offered an impassioned defence of the Gandhis who hold the top two positions in the party.
"She is using the letter to protect herself when she is quitting the party," said Mr Nirupam to NDTV. "It is an excuse for quitting the party... the timing is questionable and condemnable right before the Delhi polls."
Mr Nirupam also derided Ms Natarajan's claims that her letter of "anguish", sent in November, was ignored by Mrs Gandhi and failed to get her a meeting or even a phone call. "A leader of her stature shouldn't have a problem in getting an appointment with Sonia Gandhi," Mr Nirupam said.