Shatrughan Sinha 'embarrassed' BJP by signing mercy petition for Yakub Memon, says Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday lamented that BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha had "embarrassed" the party by signing a petition to the President against the execution of Yakub Memon and said it was "extremely sad" that the actor-turned-politician had gone against the party line."Of course, it does," Jaitley said when asked whether the signing of the petition by Sinha had embarrassed the party. He added that the question may be posed to the person who had signed the plea.

"That is not the party's line. I think it is extremely sad that any member of BJP would sign such a petition," he told 'Times Now'.Jaitley said that BJP's ideology was completely against any leniency being shown to those who took part in killings in Mumbai in 1993 or in the 26/11 terror incident.Sinha was among a group of eminent jurists, MPs, leaders of political parties who had submitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday requesting him to consider the plea for mercy to Memon.Meanwhile, talking about the monsoon session of Parliament, Jaitley expressed hope that a breakthrough in its running would come through as Indian democracy was mature enough.He, however, hit out at Congress MPs for continuing to disrupt Parliament and said they have become "captive" to the "ill-advice" given by their leader."I think Congress MPs have become captive to the ill-advice of their leader," he said without, however, taking any names.He also attacked Congress for giving a dissent note against the GST Bill and said the opposition party stands isolated."Disruptions cannot continue indefinitely. They are lowering the faith in the parliamentary system," Jaitley said, adding that the "disruptionist (sic) attitude is the only one it (Congress) knows".Memon, the lone 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict whose death sentence was upheld by Supreme Court, was hanged to death on Thursday, capping dramatic last-ditch legal manoeuvres by his lawyers to stall his execution.PTI