Reacting to a report in The Indian Express that he has been appointed leader of a group of Independent MPs in the Lok Sabha, expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh on Monday said the Lok Morcha was merely a process to develop a forum for Independent MPs who don’t get much chance to raise their points in Parliament. Singh was in Pune to launch his book, Jinnah: India Partition Independence, in the city.

Singh said he had received a proposal from MP Digvijay Singh about the formation of such a group of Independent MPs. “I am giving a thought to the proposal. Time allocation to Independent MPs is not much. The idea is to form a group of Independent MPs so that they get more opportunities to express their points in Parliament. I would be examining it,” he said.

While it is believed that the group of Independent MPs, Lok Morcha, may later evolve into a political party, Singh said, “The process of grouping the Independent MPs is in the initial stage.” When asked about the number of Independent MPs to be included in the group, Singh said, “It is not confirmed yet.”

Singh said he would be working for Hindu-Muslim unity and strengthening India-Pakistan relations. He, however, did not clarify how he would be working to achieve these goals.