Gaya Ram

The exit of Ram Jethmalani from the Vajpayee government is not as surprising as the fact that someone so individualistic and outspoken las...

The exit of Ram Jethmalani from the Vajpayee government is not as surprising as the fact that someone so individualistic and outspoken lasted so long. His parting shots at Soli Sorabjee, characterised as a pliant Attorney General whose lapses caused the minister8217;s ouster, were uncalled for. The fact is, Ram Jethmalani is his own worst enemy. As the former Law Minister must know only too well, his stance towards the Supreme Court tended to be confrontationist and put impossible strains on the government. This was apparent even before the matter came up of the locus standi of the Centre with regard to the Maharashtra government8217;s plan to prosecute Bal Thackeray.

On that case, it was unfortunate Jethmalani made public pronouncements which were at complete variance with the Union government8217;s submissions in court and some that were blatantly partisan. He invited judicial reprimand. He also embarrassed the government, giving the impression of deep confusion within. The prior cause of tension with the judiciary arose from unnecessary contention over judicial reform and appointments.

Jethmalani must have known he could not carry on for much longer at the head of the Law Ministry. Indeed, he says he had on his own thought of resigning. If the Thackeray affair made apparent his problems with the judicial arm of government, there is plenty of recent evidence to show he was at odds with the executive arm as well and took no trouble to disguise it. As welcome as his views on the new TADA Bill and Jammu and Kashmir autonomy, for instance, will be to many people, they run counter to the official line. And no one can have forgotten his run-ins as urban affairs minister with the senior bureaucracy.

It is not that Jethmalani was a political misfit in this government; his sympathies lie with the saffron side. But he is not a party man, not someone who will submit to group discipline. He broke with the BJP years ago while continuing to support it from the outside, as it were. Today he is the Shiv Sena8217;s nominee for the Rajya Sabha seat he holds. But essentially he remains a loner and an outsider. As a criminal lawyer he made his mark on the Indian firmament long before Atal Behari Vajpayee and Bal Thackeray achieved their political successes.

For a man of his talents and achievements and strong opinions it was always going to be hard to subordinate his views to those of others and to restrain himself from speaking his mind. He is just not cut out for functioning within a system of collective responsibility.

It is, therefore, good for all concerned, for the government and for Jethmalani no less than Vajpayee, that there has been a parting of ways. It is a pity though that it occurred with so much publicly aired bitterness on Jethmalani8217;s side. In the new law minister, the government has another career lawyer. But Arun Jaitley does not come with the formidable reputation of his predecessor and he is a long-standing member of the BJP. He should, therefore, find it easier to consult his colleagues and peers and defer, when necessary, to others. He will do well to know that consultation and mutual respect between the executive and the judiciary are the sine qua non for smooth functioning and good government.