BJP expels Jaswant Singh

India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled senior figure Jaswant Singh on Wednesday amid a row over his book praising Pakistan's founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Singh, a former foreign minister and member of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had questioned the demonisation of Jinnah by Hindu nationalists who blame him for the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. "He has been expelled from the party," BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters in the northern hill resort of Shimla where the party was meeting for a brainstorming session.

"We decided that he will no more be a member of any party forum," the BJP chief added. Singh's book, titled "Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence," was published on Monday. In it he portrays the Pakistani leader as a "great personality".

AFP