Jaswant back in saffron fold
Lok Sabha MP and former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday rejoined the BJP in the presence of senior leaders including L K Advani.
Representing Darjeeling in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha , Singh was sitting with the independent MPs in the Lower House after his expulsion ten months ago.
The BJP leader said his “hurt and humiliation” has been addressed by Advani. “I cannot disown the book on Jinnah... historical facts about Jinnah can’t be wished away just because we disagree,” Singh said standing by the portrayal of Jinnah in his book.
“It is good to be back in familiar surroundings... I wish to unreservedly express my gratitude to Advaniji who took the initiative,” Singh said after his homecoming.
Party president Nitin Gadkari said what happened in the past “is now forgotten”.
The former external affairs minister, 72, was expelled from the party in August last after his controversial book “Jinnah- India, Partition, Independence” on founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Singh had observed that “secular” Jinnah was not altogether responsible for the partition of the country but was rather pushed to the wall by Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel.
The book created an instant uproar with BJP leaders demanding his expulsion at the “Chintan Baitak” in Shimla. He was subsequently expelled from the party provoking him to make uncharitable comments against Advani. Singh said though he defended Advani’s role during the Kandhahar hijack crisis the latter did not reciprocate during the Jinnah controversy. Since then, Advani was keen to patch up with Singh.
Interestingly, almost similar positive comments on Jinnah by Advani had invited much ire within the BJP ranks and the RSS . Advani was forced to quit as party president in 2005 for showering praises on Jinnah during his Karachi visit.
A similar move is on the cards to bring back former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti. Behind the stage, discussions are under way even though some of the central and state leaders are strongly against re-admitting Bharti into the party.
