New Delhi, Nov. 6 (ANI): Lashing out at Nitin Gadkari over allegations of graft against him, veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday demanded that the former should resign as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President without any further delay, pending the probe into the allegations.
Asserting that a resignation pending inquiry into any allegation is not a confession of guilt, Jethmalani said 'the principle of such resignation is that a person while in office may be able either by influence or other methods to influence the investigation itself'.
"Therefore, he should be out of office at least. If a person who chooses to remain out of office during an investigation is ultimately found innocent, he returns to his office with increased prestige and credibility. It is good for the person concerned," he added.
Jethmalani said he thought that Gadkari would voluntarily take the step either of resigning or at least publicly offering to resign.
"While I was in England, I came to know from the press reports that not only he was not contemplating resignation, but he was looking for an amendment of the party constitution and a second term. That is why from England itself, I wished my opinions to be known both to the country as well as to Mr. Gadkari himself and to the party undoubtedly that in the interest of the party, the interest of the nation and in the interest of Mr. Gadkari himself, he should resign," said Jethmalani.
"While I was in England after having made that statement, I was approached by Mr. Gurumurthy, who has been a long long friend of mine. He said you are now in a few days coming to India please don't make any further statement.... I kept that promise and I thought that Mr. Gurumurthy would meet me immediately on my return...that meeting has not become possible," he added.
Taking a jibe at Gadkari's comparison of spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Jethmalani said 'it was a very silly statement to have made'. (ANI)
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