Senior Advocate and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid has stated that the appointment of Senior Advocate KK Venugopal as the Attorney General for India came as a surprise and the Bar can only speculate on the reasons for the same.

In an interview given to National Herald, Khurshid has stated that he is foxed by Venugopal’s appointment as AG. Describing Venugopal as an “eminently sensible legal luminary” who has had links with non-Congress parties, Khurshid says that his appointment as AG came as a surprise.

“I am foxed. Venugopal is an eminently sensible legal luminary. He was the Additional Solicitor General under Morarji Desai and has had links with non-Congress parties since those days. But at the age of 86, his appointment came as a surprise and the Bar can only speculate on the reasons.”

Khurshid then goes on to state that it could be a signal to Arun Jaitley that the Prime Minister has “now mastered the law and lawyers in Delhi” and does not have to rely on Jaitley.

“The most accepted view is that it is a signal to Mr Arun Jaitley that the Prime Minister has now mastered the law and lawyers in Delhi ! When he came to Delhi, he did not know bureaucrats, foreign affairs, the law and so on. Now he knows them all and does not have to rely on Mr Jaitley.”

KK Venugopal was appointed the 15^th Attorney General for India last week. He succeeded Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi to the post.