New Delhi: Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani will defend Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the defamation suit filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Delhi High Court.
"He (Jethmalani) will appear for Kejriwal and other AAP leaders in the Delhi High Court," a government source said on Monday.
While confirming the news, Jethmalani said that he would not charge a penny as legal fees from Kejriwal in the case.
Jaitley on Monday filed the defamation suit against Kejriwal and sought Rs 10 crore in damages for accusing him of corruption when he headed Delhi's cricket board, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
The Delhi High Court said it would hear on Tuesday the defamation suit slapped against Kejriwal, who took on Jaitley after CBI raided his principal secretary Rajendra Kumar's office for alleged corruption.
Speaking in the Parliament yesterday, Jaitley refuted the allegations against him, saying the DDCA when headed by him gave a proper cricket stadium to the national capital. He said 43 corporate boxes were created and tickets were sold in advance for 10 years to raise financial resources.
Meanwhile, in a series of tweets yesterday Kejriwal said that he and his party cannot be intimidated and that Jaitley 'should cooperate with the Commission of Enquiry set up (Delhi) government to prove his innocence'.
"I would have taken resignation if there were so much evidence against any of my ministers as I had taken the resignation of Jitender Singh Tomar and Asim Khan. BJP is shamelessly defending Jaitley," he tweeted.
The Chief Minister also slammed BJP for protecting the Finance Minister despite facing charges of alleged irregularities during his tenure as DDCA chief for around 13 years till 2013.
By filing defamation case, Kejriwal said, 'Jaitley is trying to hurt himself'.
On Sunday, BJP MP from Darbhanga, Kirti Azad, alleged massive corruption in the DDCA and vowed to pursue the case till its final conclusion.
Stating that he had done no wrong by raising an issue involving Jaitley, Azad said, "What wrong I have done? I am fighting against corruption and my fight is not against any individual or any party."
He alleged that the DDCA gave out contracts to fake companies, paying them crores of rupees in cash, and had fudged the audit of accounts.
