'BJP will take action against Jinnah supporters'

Justifying Jaswant Singh's summary expulsion, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Rajnath Singh on Sunday warned that the party will take action against all those who 'favour' Mohammad Ali Jinnah, against whose ideals the party is opposed to.

Singh said, "If anyone dares to praise Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was responsible for the partition of our country, along with all the horrific incidents that followed, strict action will be taken against them."

Speaking at a workers conference, the saffron leader said his party has ideological differences on the founder of Pakistan.

Jaswant Singh was recently expelled from the party, after his book Jinnah: India, Independence, Partition created a furore in party circles.

With assembly elections scheduled for October 13 in Haryana, Singh accused the Congress government in the state and Centre for failing to control the price rise.

He alleged that prices of essential commodities rose whenever there was a Congress-led government at the Centre.

He claimed that the NDA government had checked price rise during its rule between 1998 and 2004.

Referring to global recession, the BJP chief claimed that there was a slow-down in 2001, but the NDA government had taken effective steps to control it.

However, the UPA government at the Centre failed to effectively tackle the situation now, he alleged.

The farmers were provided with loans at four per cent interest rate in BJP-ruled Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, he claimed and promised similar measures in the state also if his party is voted to power in the upcoming elections.