NEW DELHI: Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam met President Pratibha Patil on Sunday, a day after he offered to resign.
Subramaniam’s resignation offer came after the government asked a private lawyer to defend the Telecom ministry in the 2G case in Supreme Court.
The Solicitor General was reportedly upset over the fact that the government’s law officers were not asked to defend the ministry. Subramaniam is understood to have spoken to Union law minister Veerappa Moily, who told him not to act in haste and to wait till Monday.
Subramaniam had in November last year come under fire from the government after the Supreme Court asked it to file an affidavit on alleged “inaction” by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in preventing the then telecom minister A Raja from allocating 2G spectrum in a controversial manner.
Subramaniam had sought to be dismissive about it, but the government had subsequently asked attorney general GE Vahanvati to represent the Prime Minister in the apex Court in place of the solicitor general.
Subramaniam continued to represent the Department of Telecom (DoT).
The government had also inducted eminent lawyer KK Venugopal to represent CBI along with additional solicitor general Haren Raval.
Meanwhile, stung by the very government he defended until now that led him to resign from his post, Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam on Sunday said he had quit to protect the dignity of the high office he held.
In his first reaction here, the country’s second seniormost law officer said he had already submitted his resignation and the decision to do that so was to “protect the dignity of his office”.
“I tendered my resignation largely because of the appointment of special counsel (private lawyer) to represent Union of India in the 2G matter. I think without my consent it was not correct and it was an unfair decision,” he told PTI.
Asked whether he would stick to the decision to quit the office of the solicitor general, Subram-aniam said he will not comment on it now.
He said only after he came to know that a private lawyer has been engaged, he offered to resign.
Moily will soon talk to Subramaniam to persuade him not to press for his resignation even as he met President Pratibha Patil today. Subramaniam, however, declined to comment on his meeting with the President.
Sources said Moily will talk to Subramaniam to clear the air since he has expressed his desire to quit following the appointment of a private lawyer to appear before the Supreme Court in a case related to an affidavit filed by an NGO against telecom minister Kapil Sibal.
The government is confident that Subramaniam will understand and continue to represent the telecom ministry in the 2G case, the sources said. (Agencies)