RSS irked by Jaswant’s mention of India being a country of many nationalities

New Delhi, Aug.21 (ANI): It is learnt that the Sangh leadership has revisited Jaswant Singh’s controversial book — Jinnah – India, Partition, Independenc-and has raised severe objections to many of its contents other than the eulogizing of Jinnah and the denigration of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

“The RSS is badly irked by mention of India being a country of many nationalities,” sources said.

The RSS believes that such talk is in itself contradictory to the BJP’s famous slogan of “One Country, One Constitution”, which the party has often used in the context of removing the special status allocated to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The RSS also believes that Jaswant’s argument of India being a country of many nationalities is similar to the ideology of the Left parties.

The RSS has also trashed Singh’s contention that Sardar Patel banned the Sangh, and therefore, he had done no harm to the core ideology of the BJP by writing against the iron man.

RSS sources told ANI that the RSS has deep respect for Patel despite the fact that he banned the outfit.

They further elaborated that Patel had banned the RSS on the orders of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru after Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by Nathu Ram Godse.

Prior to implementing the order, Patel had written a letter to Nehru appreciating the social service rendered by the RSS when the partition of the subcontinet was at its peak. Patel also wrote to Veer Savarkar about the good work done by the Swayamsevaks.

In fact, Patel gave a clean chit to RSS within a month of Gandhi’s assassination, and is said to have told Nehru that the RSS was not involved in the killing.

The RSS was banned on February 4, 1948 four days after the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. The ban was only lifted in July 1949. The right wing outfit was later banned during the emergency (1975) and after the demolition of the Babri Mosque (December 1992).

Earlier in the day, Advani also toed the RSS line in saying that Patel had banned the RSS under pressure from Nehru.

Advani also said that Patel’s task of unifying more 700 odd princely states was a “super human effort and a spectacular achievement.” By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)

Jaswant’s expulsion “painful” : Advani

Shimla, Aug 21 (ANI) : Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L. K. Advani has described the decision to expel former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh as “painful.”

” It was very difficult and painful to decide to expel a colleague who worked with us for the last 30 years.” Advani said in his concluding remarks at the three-day Chintan Baithak of the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Friday.

Advani’s speech was revealed to media persons by Deputy Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj.

Advani said the decision had become a necessity as Singh violated the core ideology of the party.

Commenting about Singh’s Thursday statement that Patel was the first Home Minister of the country who banned the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh Advani said : ” It was Nehru who intended to ban the Sangh and not Patel.”

Advani also stressed on the need for expanding and continuing coalition politics to fight Congress hegemony.

He also recalled that it was Jan Sangh President Shyama Prasad Mookerjee who formed the first alliance of opposition parties named the National Democratic Front(NDF) in the first Lok Sabha in 1950.

Advani described the occasion of the Chintan Baithak as historic as the Palampur National Executive meeting of the party in 1989 became a turning point in the party’s history.

” The occasion is very unique, we met in Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur in 1989 National Executive meet, which turned to be historic in the party’s march in last 20 years, and after these two decades we are meeting here for the Chintan Baithak,” Advani recalled the memories of that meeting.

BJP adopted the resolution to take active part in the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, and alliance with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, in the Palampur meeting.

” When the Maharashtra unit of the party brought the resolution to have an alliance with Shiv Sena, many people opposed it. But today it is one of the long standing partnership of the party,” Advani said.

Advani also called the decade of 1989 to 1999 as a progressive as party improved its position throughout the nation and also came to power. But the decade between 1999 and 2009 where the party witnessed two defeats needed retrospection.

Advani also described the Chintan Baithak as a step towards the party’s development, and said ” the party has got enough space for thinking, expressing, having discussion.”(ANI)

Rajnath stays mum on Jaswant, says Advani will continue to lead BJP

Shimla, Aug 21 (ANI ) : Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) President Rajnath Singh, on Friday refused to take any questions from the media on the issue of expulsion of former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh from the party and said L.K Advani will continue to lead the party “forever.”

” Advaniji will lead the party for longer time.”

Addressing the media at the end of the three-day Chintan Baithak here, Singh said “Don’t bring up the old issues again, and I told whatever I can on day one.”

Singh said the members attending the Chintan Baithak had decided to be tough on the ideological and individual discipline of party leaders and workers.

He urged party leaders and workers to adopt a model life style in their public as well as personal life.

Singh also said the BJP has decided to stick to its core ideology of cultural nationalism as said in the ideological draft of “Integral Humanism.”

Integral Humanism is a draft of five speeches made by Jan Sangh President Din Dayal Upadhyaya. The BJP adopted Integral Humanism as its philosophy in place of Gandhian Socialism at Party’s National Executive of 1984 held at Kolkata.

The analysis of party’s performance on all the fronts made at the Chintan Baithak would be discussed at a general secretaries meeting soon.

He also said that the party would constitute a committee to draft the “road ahead” map for the party, which would be placed before party’s National Executive in September – October.

” I will call a meeting of senior leaders and all general secretaries to discuss the analysation made here, and a committee will be formed to prepare a road map draft for the party, which will be placed before the national executive,” Singh said.

Singh also rebuffed allegations of any leakage of the draft of the party’s performance.

“Both Bal Apte and Ram Lal were assigned to analyse the party performance based on the reports given by various state units, and accordingly they put their views before the meeting. And they brought all the points in their diary and no draft was prepared, “Singh explained.

Considering RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion to give preference to youngsters, Singh said : ” The meeting considered the sarsnghchalkji’s statement and decided to give preference for youngsters from Mandal level to the Central level.”

Rajnath read out the points of the resolutions adopted by the meet, which states, (1) The BJP will be committed to the ideology of cultural nationalism and Integral Humanism, (2)Stress on expansion of party’s geological and social base, (3) Preference to women, youths, farmers in party leadership (4) Strengthening NDA, (5) No compromise on discipline (6) Role model administration by the party’s governments at the state level, (7)Constructive and aggressive opposition at the centre and (8) Leading model life by leaders and workers of the party.

Singh said no one is responsible for party’s debacle, ” No one is responsible for election debacle. If at all any one is responsible, its Rajnath Singh, I owe my responsibility being party chief.” (ANI)

Jaswant Singh rules out walking away from politics

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh on Thursday ruled out walking away from active politics, saying he will continue to remain in public life.

He also said that he would continue with his literary and creative pursuits while being in politics.

Interacting with media persons after his arrival from Shimla, Singh said he will make the letter written to key members of the party on the reasons of party’s debacle in the 2009 elections public on Saturday (August 22).

In a meeting held immediately after the debacle of the party in the elections to the Lok Sabha in May, Singh is said to have written a note titled Inaam (Award) and Parinaam (Result).

Singh said he has never associated himself with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS), nor violated any ideological stand of the party.

“I have not violated the ideology of the party, I don’t know which core ideology of the party they are speaking about. I don’t want to explain any conduct,” he said.

Singh also criticised the BJP’s comparison of vote and vichar (thinking).

Commenting on the banning of the his controversial book “Jinnah, India- Independence, Partition” by the Gujarat State Government, Singh asked “Where I made derogatory remarks about Sardar Patel in that book? Whether they read the book before banning ?.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson of the Gujarat Government announced that the state is banning the publication of the book because of derogatory remarks made about India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

“Banning the book means shutting the door for thought” Singh said.

“If any individual or organisation stops reading, writing, debating, thinking, and reflecting then it is heading towards darkness,” Singh added.(ANI)