Jaswant says expulsion regrettable
Describing his expulsion from BJP as "saddening and regrettable", Jaswant Singh today said that he will not appeal against the decision or seek any review though he felt that the party did not follow procedures.
He also made it clear that he did not regret writing the book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah and stood by whatever he has written on the "painful period of history".
A visibly emotional Singh said that he was sad that his 30 years of association with BJP has come to such an end but felt he could have been told not to come to Shimla.
Singh, a member of Lok Sabha from Darjeeling in West Bengal, said his political life was not over and that he would continue to be a member of Parliament.
"Regret. Why should I regret five years of labour? I have written what is my reading of that painful period of history," he said when asked if he regretted writing the book 'Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence' which led to his expulsion from the party. "I have committed no sin. None whatsoever against India," he said.
Recalling that he was among those given positions of responsibility in the party by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani, Singh said "I'am of course saddened by the way I have been expelled after having worked for the party with dedication for 30 years. I have served the party to the best of my ability."
Singh, a former Union Minister who held key portfolios of Finance, Defence and External Affairs, said he should have been shown the courtesy of being told about the expulsion personally by Advani or Rajnath Singh instead of being told over phone.
"There are procedures in the party which are to be followed like issuing a showcause notice which were not followed," he said but ruled out making an appeal against or seeking a review of the party decision.
"I have no such feelings of self-pity. I have expressed my views as clearly as I could. I am saddened that the party has found it fit to expel me after 30 years of association," he said. To a question about his expulsion for writing the book on Jinnah but at the same time Advani was continuing in positions after his infamous trip to Pakistan hailing Jinnah, Singh said "you please ask this question to Advani."
Asked if his expulsion was a result of a secession war or petty quarrels in the party, Singh said "I don't know if there is a secession war. It is something the party should decide because I am no longer in a position to talk about internal affairs of the party."
Singh said he was never a member of RSS and it was for BJP to consider the "wise counsel" of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who had talked of the need for younger leadership in BJP.
Singh said Rajnath Singh called him this morning and told him not to come to the brainstorming session because "tempers are running high".
He said he would go back to Delhi but he was sorry that he was told around 1 pm by Rajnath that he was expelled from the primary membership of the party.
"If they had asked me (to quit) I wouldn't have said no," he said in reply to a question.
Singh said there ought not to be selectivity on dissent and discussion. "There are members in the party who feel there is a great deal of selectivity," he said.
About the book, he said he has been punished even before it was read fully. "The day we stop reading, writing, thinking and reflecting we will be a poorer nation. More so for a political organisation if it stops reading, writing and thinking. We are entering a very very dark alley," he said.
On the book, he said Hamid Haroon, Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan daily Dawn, who had attended the book launch, had said it would set Pakistan on fire but actually it was troubling India.
Singh said the book portrays all the wrongs that Jinnah and that he was described as the perpetrator of Calcutta killings.
He said the book talks about the change of heart in Jinnah, who was an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity in 1916 and became the Qaid-e-Azam of Pakistan in 1946.