Brushing aside criticism that it acted in haste,the BJP today said Jaswant Singh had committed grave indiscipline and went against the party's core ideology in his views in Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Sardar Patel meriting summary expulsion,a charge strongly denied by the former Union minister. "Considering the gravity of the situation,the Parliamentary Board of the party has all the powers to summarily expel a member," senior leader Arun Jaitley told reporters defending the action taken without issuing a show-cause notice. Answering criticism that the party was muzzling a senior leader for writing a book and expressing views,Jaitley said the party has no objection ordinarily against any intellectual exercise like this by a party functionary so far as it does not goes against the strong and core beliefs of the party. "The issue is not your right to author a book but the issue is what you say and what you write. The basic issue that remains is what you say and what you write and the contents of the book. No political party can allow any member,more so a front line leader,to write and express views against the core ideology of the party," he said. Returning to Delhi,Singh challenged the party's contention that he had violated its discipline and ideology and wanted to know which core belief of the party he had disturbed. Replying to questions,Jaitley sought to make a distinction between Singh's views on Jinnah and what was said by senior leader L K Advani in 2005 during his visit to Pakistan. "There is a basic difference between what the two leaders have said. What Advani said was a tactical reference to Jinnah's speech in Pakistan's constituent assembly to tell the people of Pakistan what situation they have come to. But to say that Jinnah was demonised in India,that Indian Muslims feel as aliens in the country and to denigrate Sardar Patel goes against the national consensus and party's core beliefs," Jaitley said. Singh contended that the "resolution" on Jinnah in the aftermath of L K Advani's visit to Pakistan was not a party resolution but just a statement of leaders. He said he stood up for Advani against the treatment meted out to him after his visit to Pakistan as he believed that he had not said anything incorrect. On his views in the book that was release last week,Singh said "I don't know which part of the core belief that has been demolished (by his views in his book on Jinnah). Patel,what is so core about him. Patel was the first leader who banned RSS but not Muslim League and imprisoned RSS workers. Which core belief I have disturbed." "I am not in violation of any party beliefs," he said adding he had written about Jinnah's intractability and constant changing of positions that contributed to partition. "Certainly the Congress leaders were responsible as were the British," he said. Singh said he stood up for Advani against the treatment meted out to him after his controversial visit to Pakistan. "I believed that he (Advani) did not say anything that was incorrect," he said. On Gujarat government's ban on Singh's book Jaitley said the state government was competent to take such a decision but the author felt that it amounted to banning thought process and would take politics further into "dark alley". He said he would not legally challenge the ban but he was not sure what the publishers would do.
