Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday issued a showcause notice to its suspended senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani for publicly speaking against beleaguered party president Nitin Gadkari.
"The parliamentary board discussed the anti-party actions of Ram Jethmalani. The parliamentary party found appropriate the decision of party president Nitin Gadkari to suspend Jethmalani for his indiscipline and anti-party activities," BJP leader Ananth Kumar told reporters.
"We have also sent him a show cause notice to tell why he should not be expelled from the party for six years," he said.
Jethmalani was suspended by the party Sunday evening after he raised questions about party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley`s objection to the appointment of a new Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief.
He had earlier called for resignation of Gadkari, who is facing charges of irregularities in his business dealings.
The decision was taken following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, which today rectified Jethmalani’s expulsion by Gadkari for gross violation of discipline and speaking against the party president.
The party was left red-faced after the octogenarian leader contradicted the party`s stand on the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as the new Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director.
By demanding Gadkari’s resignation, Ram Jethmalani had brought the internal feud of the party to the fore and embarrassed the party.
The noted lawyer told reporters this morning that he has written another letter to BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, whose resignation he has demanded earlier.
However, Jethmalani declined to reveal the contents of his letter.
"I have written a letter to the party (Bharatiya Janata Party) president. (But) I am not in a position to reveal its content," he told reporters here.
"You can get it (the content) from them... I have told them (the BJP) that you are entitled to release it to the press. I am under the oath of secrecy until the letter reaches the BJP president," he added.
By taking a tough disciplinary action against Jethmalani, the party has also given a stern message to other senior leaders who have voiced their concerns over Gadkari’s continuance as BJP chief after serious graft charges were levelled against him.
