Jaswant to be BJP V-P?
Former Union minister and Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, who was reinducted in the BJP on Thursday, might be offered a post in party chief Nitin Gadkari’s team. Mr Singh, who was a member of the party’s highest body, the parliamentary board, before he was expelled from the party last year in August, is likely to be appointed as the vice-president. He was expelled for praising Pakistan founder M.A. Jinnah in his book.
Sources disclosed Mr Gadkari is yet to announce names of two more vice-presidents and there is a possibility that Mr Singh might be offered this post. Both Mr Gadkari and BJP parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani had been instrumental in bringing Mr Singh’s back into the party.
However, a section within the party is unhappy with Mr Singh’s reinduction.
This section is of the view that the party cannot put all questions related to his ouster, behind.
“The decision to expel him was taken by party’s parliamentary board, the highest body. It was a unanimous decision. Bringing him back in the party means overruling board’s earlier decision and bringing down its authority. Singh’s book was even banned in Gujarat for carrying unpalatable remarks against Sardar Patel. The book is still there and so are the issues which had led to his expulsion. One can’t avoid those issues by simply saying past is past,” said a senior party functionary.
At a function on Thursday at the BJP headquarters where Mr Singh formally rejoined the party, the BJP chief, when asked questions about Mr Singh’s ouster, had replied: “Past is past.”
Meanwhile, speculation had also been rife in the party about former party leader and expelled saffron sanyasin Uma Bharti. Though both Mr Gadkari and Mr Advani are in favour of Ms Bharti’s return, a section of senior party leaders, including Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the party’s MP unit chief Prabhat Jha, are opposed to her return.
Sources also disclosed that senior RSS leader Suresh Soni is also opposing her comeback. Ms Bharti was expelled for publicly criticising Mr Advani.
The main reason behind opposing her comeback is that she would remain a liability due to her temperament, sources said.
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