Arvind Kejriwal asked me to use abusive words: Ram Jethmalani tells Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Days after quitting as Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's counsel in the defamation cases filed against him by Union minister Arun Jaitley, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani has fired a fresh salvo at his erstwhile client, saying the CM has asked him to use abusive words against the Finance Minister. 

Earlier on July 20, the senior lawyer had written a letter to Kejriwal in which he had claimed that the AAP leader asked him to use worse words than 'crook' against Arun Jaitley. As per the latest reports of leading daily Times Of India, Jethmalani has now taken an unprecedented step and has sent a copy of the same letter to the Union Minister. 

Reportedly, in a letter to the Delhi CM, the senior advocate had also claimed Kejriwal had used even more offensive language against Jaitley during private discussions on the case.

xcerpts from Ram Jethmalani's letter dated 20.7.2017 to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on defamation suit filed by Arun Jaitley against Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/oiRbCuvEQj

— ANI (@ANI_news) July 29, 2017

"When Arun Jaitley filed the first suit and criminal case, you naturally sought my services. Ask your (Kejriwal) conscience how many times you used worse abuses than a mere 'crook'. You have hundred times asked me to teach this crook a lesson," the lawyer said his letter.

Speaking to ANI, Jethmalani said, "The reason behind it is he (Kejriwal) has spoken a lie. He has gone and said that I have not given any instructions, but fact is he did and I have them recorded. I'm not disappointed at all; I did all that I could do. If he does not pay me I don't mind, because I have fought for many for free. It does not make a difference if I lose one".

Earlier on May 17, the recording of Jaitley's statement in a Rs 10 crore civil defamation suit, filed by him against Kejriwal and other AAP functionaries, witnessed high drama as the Union minister objected to the use of a word against him by the veteran lawyer representing the chief minister. Days after the court proceedings, Jaitley filed a fresh Rs 10 crore defamation suit against Kejriwal over the use of the objectionable word allegedly by Jethmalani. 

However, Kejriwal later filed an affidavit stating that there was no instruction from him to his counsel to use objectionable remarks against Jaitley in the defamation case.

Earlier, the Delhi government had cleared a payment of Rs 3.5 crore to Jethmalani, which included Rs 1 crore as retainer and Rs 22 lakh as fee for each appearance in court even before the cross examination stage is over. 

In December 2015, Jaitley had filed a civil defamation suit against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee, claiming that they made "false and defamatory" statements in the case involving the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) thereby harming his reputation.

(With inputs from agencies)