Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday said that revelations on Khandahar issue made by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh and other members of cabinet committee on security under the NDA regime have brought out the truth on how the party handled national security.
“BJP, which claims to be a party with a difference, has proved that it is indeed so when it comes to handling the nation’s security,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai.
He said, “Jaswant Singh and his former colleagues in the cabinet committee on security Yashwant Sinha, George Fernandes and former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra have brought before the nation the truth on how the BJP dealt with national security”.
By exposing the party and its leader, they have done a great service to the country, the minister added.
The NCP President said it has now been established beyond doubt that the then Home Minister L K Advani was aware about the BJP’s decision to release three terrorists in lieu of the hijacked aircraft at Khandahar ten years ago.
Only a Union Home Minister can sanction release of arrested prisoners and Advani’s claim that he was not aware of the Khandahar related decisions were “not based on facts”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Only a Union Home Minister can sanction release of arrested prisoners and Advani’s claim that he was not aware of the Khandahar related decisions were “not based on facts”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pawar, however, refrained himself from commenting on a claim made by a nuclear scientist that Pokhran II tests were not successful, saying he lacked technical knowledge of the issue.