PM's clean chit to Jethmalani

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, JULY 25. Mr. Ram Jethmalani is not a man who can be easily counted out. Two days ago he was shown the door; today he had reason to permit himself a smile. For the time being he has the satisfaction of being proved right about the status of the legal case against the Shiv Sena chief, Mr. Bal Thackeray.

There was another victory of sorts when he got a certificate of good conduct from the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee. Three days after asking for his resignation as Union Law Minister, Mr. Vajpayee today found himself clarifying that by asking him to quit ``no reflection was sought to be cast on his integrity.'' Mr. Vajpayee's thinking on Mr. Jethmalani was conveyed in a statement by the Prime Minister's Press Adviser, Mr. H.K. Dua. There have been suggestions that Mr. Jethmalani was probably guilty of misconduct in the so-called ``M.S. Shoes scandal.'' Mr. Vajpayee asked for the Attorney-General, Mr. Soli Sorabjee's opinion, who in turn gave a view not entirely favourable to Mr. Jethmalani. On his part, Mr. Jethmalani asserted that he had to resign because of `pinpricks' from the Attorney-General.

However, the Prime Minister's Press Adviser makes it clear that Mr. Jethmalani's resignation was sought mainly because ``he (Mr. Vajpayee) has been keen to have the best of relations between the Executive and the Judiciary.'' Mr. Jethmalani last Friday used `intemperate' language against the Chief Justice of India, which most observers felt was unbecoming of a Cabinet Minister.

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