Shimla: "After 30 years, I've been sacked over a book." He tried to stay stoic, but Jaswant Singh broke down more than once while addressing the media in Shimla.
He said his main concern was that he was not informed personally about the decision to sack him.
The veteran politician also recalled a cartoon published in an English weekly some years ago which depicted him as 'Hanuman' in BJP.
"I have treasured the cartoon. I have framed the cartoon and it is still with me. Now I am being treated like Ravan," an emotional Jaswant said.
Jaswant's presser followed the public announcement by Rajnath Singh that the BJP has expelled him for his pro-Jinnah book.
Jaswant Singh arrived in Shimla to attend his Chintan Baithak session, a trip he says he should have been told to cancel: "I received a call this morning from the president of the BJP that I should absent myself from the meeting, because he said tempers were running high or words to that effect. I told him that I will go back to Delhi, but he said 'don't go back I will call you'."
The BJP says Jaswant Singh has been expelled because his book glorifies Mohammed Ali Jinnah and criticizes Sardar Patel for Partition. This was the author's response: "I thought this book would set Pakistan on fire. But it is troubling India." He added, "I have committed no sin...none whatsoever...against India". After this, he broke down in tears, and then paused to collect himself.
Sources have confirmed to NDTV that L K Advani supported the decision to sack Jaswant Singh. Advani himself created a huge controversy when, four years ago, he described Jinnah as a secular leader. Jaswant Singh said he sent a copy in English and Hindi to Advani and said, "There ought not to be selectivity when discussing dissent".
Reacting to that, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "L K Advani's case is different. Advani never said Sardal Patel was responsible for Partition. Jaswant Singh defied the party constitution and core."
Jaswant Singh says he does not regret writing his book.
Modi bans Jaswant's book
In a double whammy for Jaswant Singh who was expelled from BJP, the Gujarat government on Wednesday banned his controversial book on Pakistan founder M A Jinnah alleging it defamed the image of Vallabhbhai Patel.
"The Home Department has issued a notification putting a ban on sale of Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence in the state," an official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) official told PTI here.
"The book has been banned as it has certain references on Sardar Patel which defames his image," he said, adding, "the ban comes with immediate effect."
The book praises Pakistan's founder M A Jinnah and accuses first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel of being responsible for the partition of the country. (With PTI inputs)