KOCHI, July 25: Do you know who was the first lawyer in the world? According to Union Minister for Urban Affairs and Employment Ram Jethmalani, the first lawyer is described in the Bible.The snake which advised Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in Eden was in fact the first advocate in the world, he said. ``Without him we would not have been here,'' he said while addressing a meeting organised by the Cochin Stock Exchange here on Friday.His speech was peppered with other witty comments. He wondered why the stock exchange called a lawyer to address the meet. Even his Ministry was not connected in any away with the capital market, he said. ``Usually people call a lawyer, when they have a problem. I suppose you have a genuine problem,'' he quipped.JETHMALANI'S LOVE FOR KERALA: Kerala provided a `turning point' to the Urban Affairs and Employment Minister in his career as a lawyer-cum-politician.``It was a speech made by me against the proclamation of Emergency at the Kerala lawyers'conference in Palakkad which led to my imprisonment during the Emergency,'' recalled Jethmalani. He was speaking at a civic reception accorded to him by Kochi Corporation at the Town Hall here on Saturday.``After I became a Central Minister, I chose a controversial bureaucrat from Kerala Alphonse Kannanthanam as my private secretary. Many persons advised me against the selection, but I stood firm,'' he said.`'The way he (Kannanthanam) helped me run my Ministry has vindicated my stand and enhanced my love and affection for Kerala,'' Jethmalani added.
