New Delhi, Nov 27: Suspended BJP MP Ram Jethmalani today lashed out at the BJP leadership trio -- Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley -- saying that the three have already caused "irretrievable and irremediable" damage to the party.
The maverick criminal lawyer, addressing a press conference, said, he was yet to get the show cause notice from the party. "If there is any substance in it, I will reply, otherwise I will tear and throw it in a wastepaper basket", he aded.
Jethmalani said, he has written a letter to party chief Nitin Gadkari today asking him to give him more time till the end of December instead of 10 days to reply to the showcause notice.
"I am a busy lawyer, I am a busy writer, and I am a busy professor. I need time till December end to reply. 10 days is not enough", said Jethmalani.
"The revelations about Gadkari has caused much damage to the party's image. The common man is today asking what's the difference between the Congress and the BJP. They will lose millions of votes because of this", said the suspended BJP MP.
Asked whom he meant by saying "Congress agents", Jethmalani quipped: "all the three, Gadkari in particular".
"Even Congress agents cannot do so much harm than these three have done to the party", said Jethmalani. "If I'm going to be expelled, they will expel me. I'm ready to face expulsion", he added.
Terming his suspension from the BJP as "ultravires, Jethmalani mounted a fresh attack on the party leadership accusing Nitin Gadkari of treading on the path of suicide and dragging the party with him.
In his strongly worded letter to Gadkari, Jethmalani also alluded to the alleged role played by Arun Jaitley in the CBI director appointment row.
"Your order of suspension is ultravires and usurpation of the power of the Parliamentary Board. Besides no situation had arisen in which you should have proceeded without speaking to me and complying with ordinary decencies of a quasi-judicial office which you hold," the suspended party MP said.
He maintained that he is "totally indifferent" to the step taken by Gadkari as his standing in the legal profession and in politics as well as the affection and respect that he enjoys from sections of the people of India does not depend on his membership of Parliament.
Making a scathing comment, Jethmalani said in his letter, "I am convinced that you are firmly set on the path of suicide and you are determined to drag the whole party with you. 'Vinash kale Vipareet Buddhi (when one is set to be doomed he loses his mind)' is an old maxim."
He also said he suspects Gadkari is prejudiced against him and hence took this action of suspending him.
Levelling charges against other senior party leaders, Jethmalani has said Gadkari has suspended him on the advice of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaitley.
Jethmalani has also referred to the controversy over the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as the new CBI Director and alluded to the alleged role of Jaitley in the litigation filed by his rival and Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar.
"The litigation instituted by Mr Sinha's rival is too notorious a fact not to be known to our party leaders," Jethmalani said.
He claimed that the advocates appearing for the rival officer have been virtually Jaitley's "juniors."
"It is very improbable that the litigation before CAT was not known to him and I presume that you (Gadkari) have also acted on advice of Mr Arun Jaitley," he charged.
"I did not know until I learnt from the press that the appointment of the new incumbent (to the post of CBI Director) was opposed by our leaders on some different grounds," Jethmalani said.
He also complained to Gadkari that though he is a senior Rajya Sabha member and a founder of the BJP, Jaitley and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj did not discuss the Lokpal Bill with him.
