RSS and Congress attack Jaswant for praising Jinnah

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh today found himself facing an all round attack from friends and foes over his praise of Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in his just released book, with the remarks not going down well with the RSS and the Congress.

The RSS disapproved Singh's praise of Jinnah, while his own party appeared to distance itself from the remarks made in his new book.

The Congress was scathing in the criticism of the former external affairs minister with party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi mincing no words to denounce Singh.

"BJP and Singh are demonstrating their patriotism by denigrating India's first prime minister while eulogising Pakistan's first head of state", said Singhvi.

He said that BJP and Singh find "greatness" only in Jinnah and not in Pandit Nehru's stewardship of India into a prosperous and vibrant democracy worth praising.

"They are prepared to ignore Pakistan's slide into a failing state. Pakistan's brand of secularism appeals to the BJP and Jaswant Singh possibly because it is close to hardline Hindutva", Singhvi said.

The BJP and Jaswant Singh choose to rely on Pakistan's secularism but do not believe in India's secularism. "Their approach reflects the absence of RSS and BJP from the map of India's freedom struggle. It reflects their jaundiced anti-Congressism which extends to Jinnah love."

Though RSS and BJP leaders have reserved a structured response to Singh's book, 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence', they have voiced their differences with many opinions expressed by the senior leader in his book.

When asked if the RSS agreed with Singh's view that Jinnah has been "demonised" in India, RSS leader Ram Madhav said, "I have only read excerpts of the book. But I am constrained to say that it is far from the truth to state that Jinnah was not responsible for partition."

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar refused to make any direct comment on Singh's book but made it clear that the party does not agree with the contention that Jinnah was not responsible for partition.

"Singh's book is being published today. Let it be published and only then we will respond to it," he said.

He, however, added that BJP stands by its June 2005 resolution on Jinnah, which holds him as one of the most important politicians responsible for the partition of India.

Singhvi said that the BJP does not distinguish between Jinnah and Gandhi. While one ordered "direct action" in Bengal, the other was there to provide healing touch, he said.

"BJP is overwhelmed by love for Jinnah, but never even mentioned Maulauna Azad. When Jinnah was talking about India's partition, Azad was binding the country together as president of the Congress," Singhvi said.