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| BJP- Ram Jethmalani:End of three decade incompatible wedlock | | 
By Yash Bhasin
The expulsion of Ram Jethmalani, a legal luminary and BJP Rajya Sabha member, by the party for six years from its primary membership, has come as a surprise to me. The surprise is not on account of BJP taking disciplinary action against its a defiant member, but because why BJP took such a long time to take the action, which it has taken last long. What is more surprising is if Ram Jethmalani was ever a BJP man. In fact he was a square peg in the round hole of BJP. The BJP and Ram Jethmalani were never made for each other and their three decade long wedlock was incompatible. In early December last year Jethmalani was suspended by the party and show cause notice was served to him as to why he should not be expelled from the party for his repeatedly defying the party discipline and causing embarrassment to the party by his actions and statements which are against the basic policy and agenda of the party. This five month log separation between the two has ultimately has culminated with divorce and it is hoped the same is final and there will be no reversal or relook by the party to its decision, which has already come much delayed.
Recently, Ram Jethmalani had gate crashed into the meting of party’s parliamentary party, to which he was not invited, way he created nuisance by raising embracing and unpalatable questions and issues and even daring in the party to expel him.
The imminent expulsion of Ram Jethmalani from BJP will be a good riddance for the party, whom the former had been embarrassing time and again. The BJP Rajya Sabha member, a legal luminary was more a liability to the party than an asset. While he had hardly any contribution in strengthening the party and spreading its ideology and main planks, he had been creating confusion in the party rank and file by taking some actions which went against the party cause. Now, after his final expulsion from the party which elected him to Rajya Sabha, will Jethmalani resign from the Rajya Sabha, to maintain his credibility and claim of being a principled politician and citizen?
Ram Jethmalani has been repeatedly causing embarrassment to the party, by his statements and observations which are diametrically different from the ideology and core agenda of the party. Yet BJP’s top brass right from Atal Behari Vajpayee to L K Advani and Narendera Modi had a weakness for the legal luminary. The love-hate relationship between the two has been a three decade old story, with founding of BJP in 1980, after former Jan Sangh constituent of Janata Party cornered over the issue of double membership and loyalty towards RSS forced them to Part Company with few left over constituents of Janata Party.
In his first government, lasting only for 13 days when hardly any party but for long time allies of Jan Sangh, Akali Dal in Punjab and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra were willing to join hands with BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee surprised many by including in his cabinet the then non attached Lok Sabha Member – Ram Jethmalani. It was despite the fact that the BJP government desperately needed the support of parties having few MPs for its survival.
It was not for the first time that Ram Jethmalani, who always considers himself above party discipline, has embarrassed the BJP by taking a line divergent to that of BJP over the party criticizing the appointment of new head of CBI. In the past he has even taken a divergent line over role of central interlocutors over Kashmir. His dig at the BJP for criticizing the head of the 3-member panel of interlocutors Dilip Padgaonkar for airing his views on the role and importance of Pakistan in finding a lasting solution to J&K tangle, calling it as a dispute, has made BJP vulnerable to the attack by the Congress over contradictions and division in its own ranks over the issue. It had blunted the BJP attack on Congress and UPA government for its confused approach to the Kashmir problem and for further internationalizing the issue. This discomfiture cost to BJP at the hands of its Rajya Sabha member, is not unprecedented and a new thing. Earlier Jethmalani was made to resign from BJP when the party took strong exception to his taking up the legal defence of Punjab terrorist involved in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.
If Jethmalani was causing the BJP embarrassment again and again, the party is itself to be blamed for roping him into its fold despite the latter violating party discipline and airing views which are diametrically opposed to the BJP ideology and its main planks. The BJP’s choice for RS seat to Jethmalani from Rajasthan had given rise to various speculations. It was believed that the party wanted to oblige him in return for Jethmalani, a top lawyer, defending Advani in the case against him in connection with demolition of Babri Masjid and Modi keen to avail of his services to defend him in legal cases over Gujarat riots.
The action against Jethmalani coming quite late and after he had pitched for the party declaring Narendar Modi as NDA’s Prime Minister candidate for 2014 elections and also his tireds made publically against the then party chief Nitin Gadkari, who was in the line of fire over allegations of in propriety in his business deals, can be misconstrued. It is particularly so in the backdrop of media reports of veteran BJP leader LK Advani ad his associates opposed to projecting Modi as Primeminsterial candidate and the recent cozying up between Advani and Gadkari.
Reacting sharply against his final expulsion by the party, Jethmalani has threatened to expose the elements in the BJP, who have been working against the party and are bent upon liquidating the party. This is like devil coating from scriptures.
(The writer is a senior Journalist of J&K)
(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the scoopnews.in)
Editor, Scoop News
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