Cracking the whip, the BJP on Sunday suspended Ram Jethmalani with immediate effect for daring the party to act against him on the CBI chief’s appointment issue, saying it was gross indiscipline.
A defiant Jethmalani, an eminent lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP, who had recently demanded party chief Nitin Gadkari’s resignation in the wake of charges of alleged dubious funding of the latter’s Purti Group, said, “nobody has the guts to take action against me”.
Jethmalani invited the BJP wrath after attacking the party for criticising the appointment of new CBI Director Ranjit Sinha.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Jethmalani had opposed the letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, asking him to keep the CBI Director’s appointment in abeyance.
“Jethmalani’s remarks are meant to help the Congress,” Hussain said adding that it was an act of “gross indiscipline”.