Madan Lal Khurana, former chief minister of Delhi and former governor of Rajasthan who was expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party, revealed on Thursday that his explusion came because he had raised questions about party president L K Advani's statement on Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
He called Advani a dictator and alleged that he was running the party as his private limited company. Khurana has been expelled for six years for indulging in anti-party activities.
Addressing his first public rally in Kirti Nagar, West Delhi, Khurana said he came to know about his expulsion only when he received a letter from party general secretary, Arun Jaitley.
"The media had carried reports that I had been served a show-cause notice for my statements on Gujarat but when I got a letter from Jaitley, I realised that the questions being asked were about my letter to Advani on the Jinnah issue. I am making this known to correct public preception," Khurana said.
Addressing the press after his rally, Khurana claimed that during his one-and-a-half hour meeting with Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday at his residence on Krishna Menon Marg, the former prime minister expressed surprise that party leaders were claiming that he had approved the expulsion.
"I am told that Vajpayeeji has told the press that my expulsion was unfortunate," Khurana said.
Vajpayee opposes Khurana's explulsion
"I am in the process of consulting senior party leaders and other members of the family. By Monday or Tuesday, I would be in a position to announce my next course of action," Khurana told rediff.com, when asked if he would return to the BJP.
Shell-shocked by the explusion, Khurana was still trying to come to the terms with reality. He recalled how he had been betrayed in the past.
He charged "self-styled mass leaders" around Advani with misleading the latter and forcing him to take "wrong decisions", and blamed the media for "spreading rumours" about him joining the Congress.