Jethmalani's 'inclusive' query

The debate that finally took place in the upper house of Parliament on the Israel-Palestine confrontation on the Gaza Strip took an unexpected turn. Veteran Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav was admonishing the deputy chairperson for reminding him of time constraints when senior lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani suddenly rose to ask, "How much time can an expelled member of the BJP expect to get?" Jethmalani, it may be recalled, was expelled by the BJP for making "anti-party statements" following his open letter to then party president Nitin Gadkari, accusing party leaders of being silent on matters of huge corruption. It was a leading question certainly, but in the event Jethmalani did not get to speak only because his name was not listed to do so.