Suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for purported“indiscipline” and “anti-party activities”, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani onTuesday wrote a scathing letter to party president Nitin Gadkari, calling hissuspension “ultra vires”. “Your order of suspension is ultra vires andusurpation of the power of the parliamentary board. Besides, no situation hadarisen in which you should have proceeded without speaking to me and complyingwith ordinary decencies of a quasi-judicial office which you hold,” thesuspended Rajya Sabha MP wrote.
Maintaining his dismissive stance towards the showcausenotice issued by the party, asking why he should not be expelled, Jethmalaniwrote: "I am convinced that you (Gadkari) are firmly set on the path ofsuicide and are determined to drag the whole party with you. Vinash kaleyvipreet buddhi (when one is set to be doomed, he loses his mind) is an oldmaxim.”
The renowned lawyer, who had earlier sought Gadkari’sresignation over allegations of irregularities surrounding Purti group ofcompanies owned by him, also stated that he suspects Gadkari took the decisionto suspend him since he nurses a bias. The latest round of verbal sparringbetween the BJP leadership and Jethmalani ensued after the latter praised thedecision to appoint Ranjit Sinha as the next CBI director, embarrassing hisparty at a time when it was criticising the government’s decision.
Soon after Sinha’s appointment was announced, leaders ofopposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had written to PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh and demanded that the decision be “kept in abeyance” ”a demand rejected by the prime minister.
But going against the party line ” incidentally not thefirst time in his political career ” Jethmalani in turn wrote to the PM, sayingthe government’s action had "for a change, averted a nationalcalamity". Taking a dig at his own party, Jethmalani said, "The rival(of Sinha in the race for the top post in CBI) has powerful friends everywhere,who do not know what a disaster it would have been if he could manage to becomedirector of CBI in place of Mr Sinha."
Incidentally, Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar hadapproached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the government’sdecision but withdrew his application after Sinha’s appointment.
To make matters worse for BJP, Jethmalani had dared hisparty, saying “nobody has the guts to take action against me.” Though he laterclarified that he would welcome any action against him since he was a smallpart of the party, the die was already cast.
Day later, BJP cracks the whip
Joining Jethmalani’s chorus, senior BJP leader and formerunion minister Yashwant Sinha and actor-turned MP from Patna Sahib constituencyShatrughan Sinha also sought Gadkari’s resignation as BJP’s national presidenttill he came clean on allegations of corruption.With the heat of rebellionrising, the axe came down swiftly on a defiant Jethmalani the next day.Cracking the whip, Gadkari suspended him from the party for “grossindiscipline”.
The issue was referred to the party’s parliamentary boardfor deliberations and a showcause notice was issued, asking Jethmalani toexplain why he should not be expelled for “anti-party” activities, and onaccount of indiscipline.
But adopting a dismissive stance, Jethmalani said he was“too busy a lawyer to reply to any document within 10 days”. The BJP hadreportedly given him 10 days to reply to the showcause notice. "Thetragedy of my life is that yesterday, for the first time, I said the prime ministerof this country had at least done one good thing ” that he has prevented acorrupt man from becoming the director of CBI. The BJP suspended me for sayingsomething which has pleased the PM. It is an act of indiscipline according toBJP," Jethmalani said.
Asked if his suspension has come due to his attacks on BJPchief Nitin Gadkari, he said "I don't know but I am entitled to suspectthat."
