CBI row: Jethmalani praises govt, flays BJP's attack

Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Ram Jethmalani on Saturday criticised his party's attack on the government over the appointment of the Central Bureau of Investigation's director.

Jethmalani also had a word of praise for the government's action in appointing Ranjit Sinha as the CBI's director. He contended that the decision "for a change, has averted national calamity".

"I was astonished to read that the BJP has attacked the prime minister and the Congress Party for what the party calls the fast-tracked appointment of Ranjit Sinha as the director of the CBI," the veteran Parliamentarian said in a letter addressed to BJP president Nitin Gadkari, copies of which were marked to the prime minister and the media.

"I regret that this criticism is a result of complete ignorance of relevant facts and has been instigated by a most undesirable rival who had to withdraw his petition before the CAT as a result of the appointment," Jethmalani said.

Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha respectively, had written letters to the prime minister, saying that appointment of the new CBI director should not have been done when the Rajya Sabha Select Committee had recommended that such appointments should be done through a collegium.

The prime minister had rejected the BJP's demand to hold in abeyance the appointment of Sinha as CBI director and termed as "unwarranted insinuation" the charge that the decision was to preempt the procedure recommended by the Select Committee on Lokpal.

"The rival has powerful friends everywhere who do not know what a disaster it would have been if he could manage to become director of CBI in place of Sinha," Jethmalani said.

Jethmalani said he would send to Gadkari documents to show how the government action "for a change, has averted a national calamity."

"I have to request you to ensure that these critics from our party refrain from further comments till they know all the facts. I claim to know the facts from my own knowledge," he said.

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar had approached the Central Administrative Tribunal against the government's decision to ignore his name for the post of CBI director, but withdrew his application after the appointment of Sinha.

Kumar had moved the tribunal after his name was omitted from the list of three officers short-listed by the Central Vigilance Commission for being considered for the post of the next CBI director.