Bharatiya Janta Party’s Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani has questioned his party’s criticism of the appointment of new CBI director. On Saturday, he wrote a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari saying that the criticism was the result of ignorance on the part of his party.

Without naming anyone but clearly hinting at Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar, he said in the letter that possibly this criticism was “instigated by a most undesirable rival who had to withdraw his petition before the central administrative tribunal (CAT),” a day after the appointment was announced. He added that this person, who had many friends in political circles, would have been a disaster had he become the CBI director, instead of Ranjit Sinha. He said he had documents to prove how the government's action averted a national calamity.

A controversy had erupted when the BJP demanded that the appointment of Sinha be annulled in view of the changes a Rajya Sabha panel report had recommended in the selection of the CBI director. The report, laid in the house a day after Sinha's appointment, had asked for involving the leader of opposition in the selection process. The government, however, said that the post couldn't have been kept vacant until the report was discussed and adopted by parliament.

This is the second time in recent times that Jethmalani had gone against the party line. Earlier, he had openly questioned continuation of Gadkari as the party president in view of allegations made against him.