Ram Jethmalani expelled for anti-party comments

The Bhartiya Janata Party today expelled Senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani from primary membership of the party for six years for making anti-party remarks.

The Bhartiya Janata Party on Monday expelled Senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani from primary membership of the party for six years for making anti-party remarks.

He will now be an independent member of Rajya Sabha.

The decision to expel Jethmalani was taken at the BJP parliamentary board meeting.

In a letter to Jethmalani, BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar on Tuesday said the party’s parliamentary board had taken a unanimous decision Monday to expel him from membership of the party.

“The central parliamentary board after considering all your replies, responses and letters was of the unanimous opinion that you have indulged in a breach of discipline. The parliamentary board, therefore, decided to expel you for a period of six years from the primary membership of the Party,” the letter stated.

Jethmalani courted controversy by often making anti-BJP comments. He was suspended from the party after he criticised the BJP for opposing the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as CBI chief, and praising the government over the move.

He had also openly taken on former BJP president Nitin Gadkari over "business irregularities" in his Purti group.

Earlier this month, Jethmalani barged into a routine parliamentary party meeting of the BJP and questioned his continuing suspension from the party. He also asked if he could be issued a whip when he was suspended.

While it was also alleged that he said the party was soft on fighting corruption, some BJP leaders stoutly denied this.

After Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had spoken, Jethmalani reportedly said he had been fighting against corruption and black money and yet was suspended from the party for months.

"What is my status right now," he is believed to have asked, demanding to know whether the party intended to revoke his suspension or expel him.

With IANS inputs