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Bihar will lead the nation once again: Jaswant Singh

PATNA — Former Union Minister and expelled BJP leader, Jaswant Singh on Sunday said Bihar would provide the paltform to launch a nation-wide agitation for all round development of the country and change its political system.

Referring to the movements of Mahatma Gandhi and Jaiparakash Narain, Singh told a function, organized to release an Urdu version of his controversial book “Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence” here, “I am sure the people of Bihar will once again lead the nation to ensure a historical change in the Indian polity.”

Singh said the Partition had not only divided the country but also created a chasm within the people.

“Muslims in India were made second class citizens,” he argued.

Thanking Singh for writing the book, former MP and eminent journalist, M J Akbar said “Indian Muslims are the most secular and they do not require certificate from any political party or leaders to prove that.”

Senior columnist Prabhash Joshi said Jaswant Singh had not written the book to earn money but to enlighten the Muslims of the country to participate in politics and demand their dues.

Former union minister Arif Mohammad Khan said the leaders of both communities should remain prepared to fight communalism to make the nation strong.

Former Union minister of state for external affairs and Banka MP Digvijay Singh said “Jaswantji has the guts to call a spade a spade.”

Jaswant Singh was in Patna on Sunday at the invitation of expelled Rajya Sabha MP Dr Ezaz Ali, who was ousted from the Janata Dal (United) on October 21 for launching a diatribe against the party high command. Ejaz Ali, a shrewd fanatic Muslim leader, who is also the president of All India United Muslim Morcha, has been repeatedly putting pressure on the JD(U) to snap ties with the BJP. He had also invited Nitish Kumar’s arch rivals RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan to participate in the programme.

- With inputs from agencies