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ShareNew Delhi: The opposition today raised a clamour in the Rajya Sabha for the head of the Union minister who is said to have telephoned justice R Reghupathi of the Madras High Court and tried to pressure him to grant anticipatory bail to a father-son duo accused of forging marksheets.
Raising the issue during zero hour on the first day of the budget session of Parliament, leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley said the minister called the judge to "persuade and pressurise" him.
Describing this as an attempt to interfere with the judicial system, he said it was not only a case of criminal contempt, but also amounted to an act of misdemeanour by the minister.
Jaitley argued that the government need not wait for the judge to reveal the name of the minister and demanded that prime minister Manmohan Singh write to the chief justice of India to identify him. He urged the prime minister to make a statement in the House and asserted that the minister in question must be dropped.
Jaitley made a covert reference to IT and telecommunications minister A Raja of the DMK, whom AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa has named as the minister in the row. "A minister is not 'a raja' who is not accountable," said Jaitley. The telecom ministry, he said, pausing for effect, could ascertain details of any calls made.
Jaitley's demand to immediately "dump" the minister was backed by the CPI(M) and the AIADMK. Describing the incident as a "mockery and assault" on the independence of the judiciary, Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) said it reflected a "blatant misuse of power" and a "nexus" between the minister and a person charged with forgery.
