A Prominent lawyer and former union minister Ram Jethmalani passed away
Prominent lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani, who Solicit several controversies in his career and was known for his sharp remarks, passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 95. He had been diseased for some time and was kept under round the clock medical supervision for the last two weeks.
Ram Jethmalani born in Sikharpur, Sindh on September 14, 1923, Jethmalani became a lawyer at the young age of 18. He is survived by his son Mahesh, also an eminent lawyer who dabbled in politics as well. He has a daughter who lives in the US. Another daughter Rani passed away a few years back.
He was a a member of Rajya Sabha from RJD, served as law and urban development minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but even during his days in the BJP he would never hold back on criticising his own party. Later, in 2004 he contested against Vajpayee from Lucknow in the Lok Sabha election and represented the BJP in the Lower House from Mumbai twice.
Commenting on Jethmalani’s loss, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted “In the passing away of Shri Ram Jethmalani Ji, India has lost an exceptional lawyer and iconic public figure who made rich contributions both in the Court and Parliament. He was witty, courageous and never shied away from boldly expressing himself on any subject,”
Amit Shah has also expressed their pain by twitting “Deeply pained to know about the passing away of India’s veteran lawyer and former Union Minister Shri Ram Jethmalani ji. In him, we have not only lost a distinguished lawyer but also a great human who was full of life,”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Extremely saddened at the passing away of legendary lawyer Ram Jethmalani ji. An institution in himself, he shaped criminal law in post-independence India. His void would never be filled and his name will be written in golden words in legal history.”
Jethmalani was acerbic in his political life as well. He took on Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during the Bofors gun deal controversy, posing a series of questions to him through the press on a daily basis. When Gandhi was asked about the questions, he said he would not pay attention to every barking dog. Jethmalani shot back, saying a dog barks only at a thief.