Jaswant back in BJP fold

Nine months after he was expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for writing a book on Pakistan founder MA Jinnah that few in his party had read, former foreign, defence and finance Minister Jaswant Singh today rejoined the party.

At a function organised to announce his re-induction into the party fold, 72-year-old Singh profusely thanked senior BJP leader L K Advani for taking the initiative to bring him back to the BJP of which he was a founder member.

“It is good to be back in familiar surroundings... I wish to unreservedly express my gratitude to Advaniji who took the initiative,” Singh said. Among others present were party President Nitin Gadkari and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

Recalling his expulsion from the party at its ‘Chintan Baithak’ in Shimla in August last year, the MP from Darjeeling said, “I was hurt and humiliated by what I had encountered.”

While Advani expressed happiness at the inclusion, Gadkari said the “past is past” and hoped that Singh will work to make the party’s future bright.

Singh was expelled from the BJP in August 2009 for praising the Pakistan founder in his book “Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence”.

While holding Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel responsible for partition, Singh said Jinnah was secular, a position that was unacceptable to the Sangh Parivar. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had banned Singh’s book in his state. After his expulsion, BJP also asked Singh to step down from the Chairmanship of Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee but he refused.