I stood with Advani when he praised Jinnah: Jaswant

Former union minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday said he had stood with LK Advani, who nearly resigned as BJP president in the wake of internal criticism for praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah during his visit to Pakistan in 2005.

Former union minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday said he had stood with LK Advani, who nearly resigned as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president in the wake of internal criticism for praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah during his visit to Pakistan in 2005.

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"I had stood up against the treatment that was meted out to Advaniji because I believed that he had not said anything that was contrary to facts," Singh told reporters on returning to Delhi from Shimla after his expulsion from the party.

"I had stood up for the right of Advaniji to say what he had said," he said.

Jaswant Singh, who has held defence, finance and external affairs portfolios in BJP-led governments, was on Wednesday expelled from the party for his controversial book "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence" in which he has praised Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Singh in his book has said that Jinnah was "demonised" in India, while part of the blame for the country's partititon should also go to India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel.