BJP expels Jaswant Singh for praising Jinnah

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The former foreign minister and member of the Lok Sabha was thrown out of the BJP for his new book.— Photo from AFP/File
NEW DELHI: The BJP expelled the former foreign minister Jaswant Singh from the party following his recent book praising Pakistani leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah, DawnNews reported.

The BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters in Shimla that his party’s parliamentary board decided to expel Singh from the primary membership of the party.



‘Yesterday, I issued a statement about the BJP dissociating itself from Jaswant Singh’s views. The party discussed the matter at the chintan baithak and it was decided to expel him,’ AFP quoted Rajnath as saying.



Singh’s recent book ‘Jinnah — India, Partition, Independence,’ reflects the politician’s personal admiration for the founder of Pakistan, and has stoked a storm of controversy.



Conservative members of the right-wing BJP have slammed the publication, and had mounted a campaign to ostracize Singh, trashing the BJP with epithets such as the ‘Bhartiya Jinnah Party.’

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn...ah--il--08

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http://express.com.pk

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http://www.dailywaqt.com

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http://www.dailywaqt.com

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http://geo.tv/8-20-2009