Jaswant questions denial of bail to Raja, Kani

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh on Friday questioned the denial of bail to 2G scam accused former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh on Friday questioned the denial of bail to 2G scam accused former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

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“I am not a jurist or lawyer either by training or preference. I feel that somebody has been charged and that charge is not of heinous nature like robbery, murder or any such thing,” Singh told a TV channel.

“When the trial is on, that somebody (in question) should not be kept in prison because you can't permanently deny bail… Bail by itself is a citizen's right unless he is charged with such a crime that it must not be permitted.… And in what fashion are they interfering (in the investigations)?”

Singh, however, added that this was his personal view and not that of his party: “I'm speaking as an individual. I'm not speaking for the party. I don’t think the BJP has said ‘keep them permanently in jail’. The BJP has said ‘punish the guilty’.”

Distancing itself from Jaswant’s statement, BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said it’s his view and not the party’s. He was expelled from the BJP a few years ago when he wrote a book praising Pakistan founder Mohd Ali Jinnah.