BHUBANESWAR: State BJP leaders on Sunday condoled the death of veteran lawyer and former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani. In a condolence message, State BJP president Basanta Panda and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Pradipta Kumar Nayak said the country lost an eminent lawyer and a leader of exceptional talent who will be remembered for his vast knowledge in legal affairs.
Jethmalani was law minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.
Panda said Jethmalani had fought several high-profile cases which included the assassination of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi. He also defended Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh in the Securities scam of 1992. Jethmalani had defended the death sentence given to Afzal Guru and represented Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal murder case.
National BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda said Jethmalani was very influential in both legal and political fraternities. “He had a fiery, tempestuous reputation, but in my two decades of knowing him he was graceful and friendly,” Panda tweeted.