Ram Jethmalani flays BJP's attack on govt over CBI director

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Ram Jethmalani today criticised his party's attack on the government over the appointment of the CBI Director alleging that the move was "instigated" by the "most undesirable rival".

Jethmalani also had a word of praise for the government action in the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as CBI Director and 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 Mr. 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 yesterday 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 BJP's demand to hold in abeyance 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.