Ram Jethmalani threatens to drop a bombshell

Hours after chairman Krishna Kant withheld him from making his statement8211;listed in the business schedule today8211;the former Union Law Minister told The Indian Express: 8220;I stand by whatever I have said, I8217;m not going to either change or retract anything8230;it8217;s up to the House to decide. If I am not allowed to make a statement, then I am going to go public with the facts and circumstances which caused my resignation8230;the people should know what really happened and the truth must come out.8221;

After meeting Krishna Kant in private this afternoon, Jethmalani said that the chairman had sought 8220;clarifications on some technical points8221; and that he would respond to these.

Sources close to the former Minister said that one point on which clarification was sought was as to whether he had sought requisite permission of the department/ministry concerned, in this case the Law Ministry, for tabling the documents he has attached with his statement.

They are said to mostly pertain to his correspondence as Law Minister with the Chief Justice of India and the Attorney General, who he has held responsible for his resignation and against whom he has made serious allegations.

Jethmalani is understood to have alleged in his statement that Sorabjee did not defend the government well enough before the Supreme Court during the hearing on the Srikrishna report when the judges took umbrage to Union Ministers speaking in different voices. He is also learnt to have questioned his opinion in cases relating to AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha, which was subsequently quashed by the Supreme Court.

In fact, the Parliament was agog today with speculation over the contents of Jethmalani8217;s statement. Some MPs claimed to have read the statement as, according to House rules, advance copies were also given to the Leader of the House Jaswant Singh and Leader of Opposition Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha.