Lauding Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for his intellectual abilities and being “prime ministerial material,” the former Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, on Wednesday said he was at the crossroads of history and had to choose between a future of “glory” and that of “degradation.”
“I know about his intellectual abilities. I believe that he is prime ministerial material, Mr. Jethmalani said.
“But, Sir, today, he is standing at the crossroads of history.... One is the road to glory, a glorious future and the other is the road to absolute degradation, breach of faith and breach of trust. It is for him to decide which way he wants to go. I hope he will go the way to a glorious future,” Mr. Jethmalani said during the budget debate in the Rajya Sabha.
“The glorious future lies only in making some kind of compensation to the people for your past crimes, seeking their forgiveness, and going back to them with a clean mind and a clean soul.”
The lawyer-MP earlier said Dr. Singh had “passed off” his responsibility to the Finance Minister to reply to the provisions of the general budget.