New Delhi, August 20
Upon his return to the capital today, expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh hardly looked like the one who had lost his all. Wearing confidence on his sleeve, the veteran seemed to declare -- When all is lost, the future still remains - and said he would continue to represent Darjeeling in the Lok Sabha as an Independent member.

Defiant in his deed (of writing the controversial book), Jaswant made it clear that he was in no mood to bow to accusations and said he had not disregarded any “core belief of the BJP” as insinuated by the party leadership back in Shimla.

The former External Affairs Minister further sought to bring the RSS on the mat, saying he never ascribed to the outfit’s views and was never its part. “I have learnt almost as much (if not more) from the Army,” Jaswant said, refusing to acknowledge that the party had ever adopted any resolution on Jinnah in the aftermath of Advani’s controversial remarks on the Muslim leader in Pakistan.

“That was no resolution. That was a mere statement the party had issued after what Advani had said. I had stood by Advani at that time and I never thought he said anything wrong,” the MP from West Bengal said, continuing to ruffle feathers in a party that is no longer his.

He defended his analysis of Patel and Jinnah, wondering what had so troubled the saffron outfit. “I fail to understand which core belief has been demolished by my views on Jinnah. And, what is so core about Patel? He was the first to ban the RSS but not the Muslim League. He even imprisoned RSS workers. Which belief have I then disregarded?” Jaswant questioned the party back.

Audacious in his defence, Jaswant even denounced the Gujarat government’s move to ban his book, saying it amounted to “muzzling the thought process” and spelt doom for politics, which would be further hollowed. In a lighter vein, however, the former BJP leader prided in the fact that he now shared reputation with Salman Rushdie whose work “The Satanic Verses” created similar ripples.

Not that Jaswant would have waited to retire from politics to ink his “well-researched” thoughts on Jinnah and Patel. “Leaders like Nehru, Maulana Azad and Winston Churchill did a lot of writing as politicians. That’s how it ought to be,” said Jaswant, not failing to bring on record that Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh both knew he was writing a book and had even asked him to wait until Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

“I regret that my colleagues have not yet read my book and have expelled me,” Jaswant said today. He is expected to meet BJP stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee any time now, and would also disclose on August 22, the contents of the letter he addressed to the party core group in the wake of LS debacle.

As for the Lok Sabha -- he said he would sit in the seat, which the Speaker allots him. And on whose side? Well, no strings attached.