News Politics National Old BJP warhorse Jaswant Singh files nomination: says, he was betrayed by Rajnath, Vasundhara

Old BJP warhorse Jaswant Singh files nomination: says, he was betrayed by Rajnath, Vasundhara

Barmer(Rajasthan): An emotional Jaswant Singh today lashed out at BJP president Rajnath Singh and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje alleging he was betrayed by both of them over the issue of nomination from Barmer seat.

"This is the second time I have been betrayed by Rajnath Singh. In 2009, soon after the elections, I was going to attend the party national executive meeting in Shimla, but was stopped midway by Rajnath ji, who asked me not to attend.

Then he rang me up to say that I have been expelled from the party. I told him, even peons are not dismissed like this", said the former External Affairs Minister.

"At that time, I was expelled because of my views on Mohammed Ali Jinnah in my book. I had written that it was Pandit Nehru who moved the Partition resolution in Congress, and Sardar Patel had seconded it. Though nobody in BJP had read that book, I was expelled".

"Later, when Nitin Gadkari became president, he invited me to rejoin the party, and at that time my family told me why I was returning to a party which had disrespected me. I think there was some mistake in my thoughts that made me return to the BJP", he said.

Jaswant Singh also lashed out at Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, saying that there was a time when he had proposed her name as chief minister, when Vajpayee and Advani consulted him and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.