Shimla, August 20: Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said that decision to expel senior leader Jaswant Singh was taken by its parliamentary board as content of his book on Jinnah is against core ideology of the Party.
Speaking to reporters, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitly said, “The issue is not your right to author a book, the issue is the content of the book. No political party gives you the right to write against ideology of the party or to air your views publicly.”
Saying that BJP doesn’t accept Jaswant’s writing on Sardar Patel, Jaitely said this is a matter related to ideological differences.
Denying personal differences with Singh, Jaitely said that Jaswant’s book is directly against core ideology of the party.
“The BJP Constitution says that the Parliamentary Board has powers in all matters of indiscipline and to decide the procedure and the action in such cases,” senior party leader Arun Jaitley told a press conference defending the summary expulsion without and show cause notice.
All the political parties have adopted such a course of action in such situations, he said citing the example of summary expulsion of leaders who contest against the party in elections.
Replying to questions, Jaitley sought to make a distinction between Singh’s views on Jinnah and what was said by senior leader L K Advani in 2005 during his visit to Pakistan.
“There is a basic difference between what the two leaders have said. What Advani said was a tactical reference to Jinnah’s speech in Pakistan’s constituent assembly to tell the people of Pakistan what situation they have come to.
“But to say that Jinnah was demonised in India, that Indian Muslims feel as aliens in the country and to denigrate Sardar Patel goes against the national consensus and party’s core beliefs,” Jaitley said.
—Agencies