New Delhi: Senior BJP leader L K Advani
today said he was not in favour of Jaswant Singh`s expulsion,
contradicting the party`s assertion that he was part of the
decision.
"These reports are correct that I was not in agreement
with the decision to expel Jaswant Singh," he said
about the decision of the party`s Parliamentary Board on
August 19 in Shimla in which he was present.
He, however, refused to elaborate saying, "I am not
interested in any further controversy."
The statement goes contrary to the assertion by BJP that
Advani was party to the decision to expel the Darjeeling MP
for eulogising Pakistan founder M A Jinnah and denigrating
Sardar Patel.
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, while briefing reporters
on the deliberations of BJP`s `Chintan Baithak` in Shimla, had
said on August 21 that Advani had described the decision to
expel Jaswant as "painful but necessary".
"It is mentally painful to expel somebody who has been
with you for the past 30 years but what he wrote was against
the basic ideology of the party," Swaraj, considered close to
Advani, had quoted him as telling the BJP meet.
BJP President Rajnath Singh, while announcing the
Parliamentary Board`s decision to expel Jaswant, had said: "I
had issued a statement yesterday (August 18) that the party
fully dissociates itself from the contents of the book. Today
I put up the matter before the Parliamentary Board which
decided to end his primary membership."
Recently, former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
had criticised BJP for expelling Jaswant without reading the
book.
When asked about his future plans, Advani said he was
busy finalising his tour plans for the forthcoming assembly
elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. "In October, I will
spend 10 days campaigning in these two states," he said,
adding that apart from state-related issues, price rise would
be a big issue in these polls.
Advani said despite the Lok Sabha defeat, all was not
lost for the BJP. "Despite the defeat in the last Lok Sabha
elections, we have proved again that Indian politics is
bipolar. We are in power in eight states, including two where
we share power with allies," he said.
"These responsibilities need accountability too," Advani
added.
The Leader of the Opposition informed that he would tour
the country to meet party workers and discuss the importance
of responsibility with them.
"After assembly elections, I plan to visit different
states. I will not address public meetings, but address
workers` conferences. I will express my views to workers about
responsibility and will listen to the views of
office-bearers," he said.
Bureau Report
