Accusing Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad of not following raj dharma (Constitutional duty), the Opposition on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government for allowing Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta to appear for Jay Shah, son of BJP president Amit Shah, in a defamation case against a news portal that reported on the growth in his business.
“If in an inquiry it is disclosed that there was violation of the Income Tax Act or any other penal statutes, would it be right for a serving law officer of the government to defend Jay Shah. The Law Minister and his Ministry has not followed raj dharma ,” said Randeep Surjewala, a practising lawyer himself, who heads the Congress’s communication wing.
When pointed out that Mr. Surjewala had himself defended allegations against the Congress president’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, during the UPA regime, he claimed to have represented the then Congress government in Haryana.
Haryana case
“There were two false allegations against our government. One that the Haryana government had allotted land to Mr. Vadra and that change of land use (CLU) was permitted by us. As a Minister in the Haryana government, I clarified that we didn’t allot any land and when the company didn’t meet the CLU criteria, a hefty penalty was charged,” Mr. Surjewala said.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “It is very unusual for a serving law officer of the government to take up private interest. There is always a danger of compromising the government in upholding the law.”
So far, the Law Ministry has not made any official statement on why it has allowed Mr. Mehta to represent Mr. Amit Shah’s son.
Sources told The Hindu that “government law officers can take up private matters with prior consent as long as the government is not a respondent”.
But the Opposition doesn’t quite agree with such an explanation. “It is morally incorrect as The Wire [the news portal] has mentioned government agencies and the Ministry of Renewable Energy sources. If a probe is ordered against these entities then what happens,” D. Raja, national secretary of the CPI, asked.
