On June 22, AFPC Kraemer Strategy Fellow Jeff M. Smith hosted Mr. Arun Jaitley, the leader of the opposition in India’s upper house of parliament (Rajya Sabha) for meetings on Capitol Hill.  Mr. Jaitley is a senior leader in the county’s largest opposition party, the BJP, and served as the BJP’s general secretary and national spokesman from  2002-2009.  He held ministerial positions in the BJP government that ruled India from 1999 to 2004, including Minister for Commerce and Industry, Minister for Law and Justice, and Minister for Information and Broadcasting.  Mr. Jaitley also practices law before the supreme court and  is among a short list of BJP candidates for prime minister should the party return to power in India’s parliament.
    On Capitol Hill, Mr. Jaitley met with  Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), founder and co-chairman of the House India Caucus, as well as congressional staff from the House Intelligence Committee.