Arun Jaitley should quit, says Justice Markandey Katju

mangaloretoday.com/NDTV

New Delhi, Feb 17: After senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley asked Markandey Katju to quit, the Press Council Chairman has shot back, saying the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha should in fact resign as "he is unfit for politics."

In an article on the BJP web site, Mr Jaitley wrote that Justice Katju’s attacks on non-Congress state governments seem like "a thanksgiving to those who gave him a post-retirement job."

"His utterances, both during his tenure as a Judge and thereafter are clearly outlandish.  Dignified comment is alien to him. His attacks on non-Congress governments whether in West Bengal, Bihar or Gujarat seem more in the nature of thanks-giving to those who provided him with a post retirement job," Mr Jaitley wrote in an article titled, "Why Justice Markandey Katju must quit as the Chairman of the Press Cuncil of India."

 

Reacting to Mr Jaitley’s statement, Justice Katju told NDTV that Mr Katju said, the BJP leader "has presented half-truths and has gone down to a very low level in personal attacks," adding, "I have criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister when the Facebook girl was arrested.  I issued a statement when the Himachal Chief Minister threatened a media person saying his camera will be broken. So I have criticised the congress government also."

Mr Jaitley had said that Justice Katju’s article in a newspaper against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi read more like a "personal tirade".

"Justice Markandey Katju has failed every test on which a Judge whether sitting or retired could be judged.  The choice of his subjects and targets is motivated by his political preferences," he added.

Demanding Mr Katju’s resignation, Mr Jaitley said, "He appears to be more Congress than the Congress party," adding he should "either quit before actively participating in politics or be sacked."