After Advani, Jaswant backs Uma's return to BJP

Even as senior members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are divided whether firebrand leader Uma Bharati should return to the party, Jaswant Singh has come out openly in her support saying he would be happy if his former cabinet colleague returns to the party.

“I would be happy if Uma Bharati returns to the party. She will be an asset for the BJP,” Singh said while talking to reporters at his residence on Saturday.

Last week, veteran BJP leader L K Advani wrote in his blog that party president Nitin Gadkari had spoken to Bharati and asked her to rejoin the party and work in Uttar Pradesh to strengthen its base.

Fifty one-year-old Bharti had parted ways with BJP in 2005 and later founded the Bharatiya Janshakti Party, but she resigned from the party in March this year. Although she continues to work for the party, her resignation was just another step for her return to the party fold. BJP president Nitin Gadkari has already said he wants to bring back people who had worked for the party in the past but decided to part ways because of some disputes.

Interestingly, Singh rejoined the BJP in June, nine months after he was shown the door for writing a controversial book on Pakistan in which he had praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

On being asked about the suggestion of AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh that the BJP should separate itself from RSS and introspect on Hindu fundamentalism, Singh said although there was a need to look into the issue of fundamentalism, the Congress leader should look at his own backyard first.