Mixed reaction to Jaswant's 'unceremonious' exit; A Darjeeling riddle

Mixed reaction to Jaswant's 'unceremonious' exit
Times of India

JAIPUR: His exit and that too unceremoniously was never anticipated, not even by his political opponents. On Wednesday, when BJP president Rajnath Singh declared the sacking of their MP from Darjeeling Jaswant Singh, there was a mixed reaction from the state BJP leaders. While some were shocked, others saw the writing on the wall for the former foreign affairs minister after he wrote the pro-Jinnah book which was released a couple of days ago.

Singh maintained that he doesn't regret his writing and even went to the extent saying that, "I was the party's Hanuman, but treated like Ravan." His supporters, though few in number, maintained that the leader didn't deserve an ungraceful exit from the party he served for three decades.

Singh managed to garner some support in his bastion Barmer, where some local leaders by the end of the day mustered strength and came out in his support. The Barmer district BJP spokesperson Badri Sharda said, "It is unfortunate that one is shown the door for expressing his personal views. Nowhere does it mention what he wrote was the party's view then why expel him from the party."

Supporters like Sharda are few and, while everyone was discussing Jaswant Singh's exit, nobody wanted to speak about it in the open. The state BJP played the party's ideology card. When asked if as an individual Singh was entitled to speak his mind out or not, a senior party leader said, "Through his book he has objected to the very ideology of Undivided India' that binds the BJP. Even if his references to Jinnah can be ignored, targeting respected leader like Patel cannot be forgiven." He further added, "Looking to his stature the decision might be harsh but was in accordance to the act."

Backing the party's decision and looking jubilant were supporters of the leader of Opposition Vasundhara Raje. One from the brigade said, "This was going to happen sooner or later. In the past five years of BJP rule, he had created a lot of rift between Raje and the party high command and that wasn't in the interest of the party. And it's not just the matter of this book; his acts against the previous state government weren't less harmful. It's a right decision."

Singh's attempt to bring forth a different image of Jinnah also failed to gain support from the Muslim community. Abdul Qayyum Akhter, general secretary, All India Milli Council Rajasthan Chapter, when asked about Singh's book said, "Well, we don't have to do anything with Jinnah. He was founder of Pakistan and has no association with us. Whatever Singh has written makes no difference to us here in India."

With reactions as varied as this if this was right or not for Jaswant Singh to write is something for the future to decide, but it certainly is not a good sign for the party that is facing a torrid time in the state. 

 

---

Jaswant's expulsion won't affect Gorkhland cause:GJM
IBNLive

Siliguri: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Wednesday said the expulsion of Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh from the BJP would not affect the statehood movement in West Bengal.

The GJM's reaction came after the BJP on Wednesday sacked the former External Affairs minister for his controversial book in which he had said Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah was not responsible for the country's partition.

''The BJP had promised in its poll manifesto to support the statehood movement,'' GJM's spokesperson Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri told UNI.

''Besides, Mr Jaswant Singh will now find enough time for his constituency and exert his political influence on other parties for realisation of statehood,'' Mr Chettri maintained.

In the last general election Mr Singh won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate after the GJM supported his candidature.

Mr Chettri said Mr Singh won by popular support of the GJM after the BJP nominated him.

''Any other candidate would have won the seat by our support.

Therefore, the expulsion will not at all affect the statehood movement in Darjeeling,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the GJM had been campaigning across the hills telling the people of the outcome of the tri-partite meeting held in New Delhi last week.

After the campaign ends by this week a central committee meeting is expected soon where party leaders are expected to chalk out a fresh strategy for intensifying the movement for statehood, added Mr Chettri.

---

Big setback for Gorkhaland dream
Times of India

DARJEELING: Jaswant Singh's expulsion is the second jolt that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has suffered in its campaign for Gorkhaland in recent months. Earlier, it was the saffron party's rout in the general elections that first upset GJM's plan to achieve Gorkhaland by March 10, 2010.

GJM had helped Singh win the crucial Darjeeling parliamentary seat with a huge margin after BJP agreed to back its statehood demand. On Wednesday, GJM tried to put up a brave front. "It is an internal matter of BJP. But we can say that we had not entered into any deal with any individual. We had negotiated with BJP and then finalized the deal (of Gorkhaland)," said GJM press and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chettri.

Others said picking Jaswant was a mistake. Madan Tamang, president of All India Gorkha League (AIGL), said: "It was wrong in the first place to nominate someone from outside the Hills. Now with Jaswant gone, will BJP listen or take up our issue any more? The Hill people's votes have gone to the dustbin."

In most parts of Darjeeling, the Nepalis there either didn't know who Jaswant Singh was or didn't care about him. An overwhelming majority voted for him all in the belief that the party with the lotus symbol will help create Gorkhaland if it comes to power at the Centre. Jaswant's campaign was pitched to convey the sense to a gullible mountain population that this is the man for the long cherished dream of Gorkhaland, a separate homeland away from West Bengal. Jaswant, however, had warmed to the Hills. He had not only touched a chord with local people, especially the Nepali-speaking population, thanks to his army background, he even planned to buy a house in Darjeeling.

---

GJM stoic, state BJP says he also went beyond brief on Gorkhaland
Indian Express

Justifying the expulsion of Jaswant Singh, the BJP MP from Darjeeling, the West Bengal party unit said that on the Gorkhaland issue too, he had gone beyond the central leadership’s mandate. “His blatant commitment to the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of West Bengal embarrassed us,” said a number of leaders.

In Darjeeling, the news was greeted with a stoic silence by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which had pulled out a big surprise when it announced Jaswant as its Lok Sabha candidate. The GJM’s support ensured that he won the seat, notching up one of the biggest electoral victories in Darjeeling.

Today, most of the GJM leaders avoided commenting on the issue. Amar Lama, one of the few senior GJM leaders who could be contacted, said: “It’s an internal matter of the BJP. We are not concerned. It would not be a setback for the separate Gorkhaland statehood movement.”

Asked if the GJM would like to continue to support Jaswant or prefer a tie-up with the BJP, Lama said: “The choice is with the BJP and Jaswant. It’s not ours. Jaswant would continue to be a popular figure in the hills.”

Dawa Sherpa, BJP convenor for Darjeeling district, said, “Legally, Jaswant’s status in Parliament would be that of “an unattached MP”.

Tathagata Roy, former president of the West Bengal BJP, said: “Our party manifesto had a very balanced stand on the Gorkhaland issue. But Jaswant surpassed the balance for which he had no mandate from the party.” Roy added, “ The party wanted to consider the demands of the Gorkhas and sort it out through dialogue. The Gorkhas never talked about cessation from India,” said Roy. But Jaswant, he said, conceded the demand for a separate state even before a dialogue.

---

A Darjeeling riddle
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Aug. 19: Darjeeling, which sent Jaswant Singh to the Lok Sabha, has a riddle symptomatic of the monsoon season: has it been hit by an unexpected landslide or has a new road been opened?

The news of the Darjeeling MP’s expulsion initially hit the hills like a calamity, especially since the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was saying as recently as yesterday that “all landslides” on the road to Gorkhaland had been removed.

The Morcha is now wondering aloud whether the BJP will dump Gorkhaland, which the national party mentioned in its election manifesto, in the absence of Jaswant.

But others felt that unshackled from the BJP, Jaswant would now be more free to reach out to other political formations and build a larger consensus on statehood.

Jaswant himself sought to keep Darjeeling’s hopes afloat, telling news channel CNN-IBN: “I am no longer bound to a party but I have a responsibility towards Darjeeling and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. With them I shall consult and see how they react. This is a beginning of a new road.”

Buoyed after the tripartite talks in Delhi where it was decided that the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) would be scrapped and the Sixth Schedule status bill for the hills dropped, the Morcha leadership had been banking on “Jaswant Gorkha” to give the “final push” to its statehood cause.

“Singh was our window to Gorkhaland,” admitted a Morcha leader. “He had upheld our demand and won from here riding on our support. We could pressure him to bring our issue to the national stage.”

Still sure that Jaswant will continue to do so, he wondered just how effective he would be.

Uncertainty has also crept in about the BJP’s commitment to the cause of Gorkhaland. “We hope the BJP doesn’t backtrack on its commitment to Gorkhaland,” said Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the Morcha publicity secretary who had yesterday told a gathering in Kalimpong “all the landslides” had been removed from the road to Gorkhaland.

“We have not struck a deal (for support to Gorkhaland) with any individual,” Chhetri said. “The BJP had collectively decided to support us.”

But Madan Tamang, the leader of another Gorkha organisation, said: “It looks like the votes from Darjeeling have gone into the dustbin.”