Not rejoining BJP, says Manvendra Singh

JAISALMER

: Former Barmer MP

Manvendra Singh

, who left BJP and joined Congress just before the state assembly elections last year, has denied reports about him moving back to the saffron party.


Manvendra, son of former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh, had initially told media that he would not contest the assembly elections but the Congress fielded him against the then chief minister Vasundhara Raje at the eleventh hour.

Manvendra

had badly lost against Raje (by a margin of nearly 35,000 votes) from her traditional seat

Jhalrapatan

in Jhalawar district.

The Congress circles are now abuzz that in the Lok Sabha elections too he might be shifted out of his home district Barmer and be asked to contest from some other constituency in the state.

Congress sources said that cabinet minister Harish Chaudhary, who represents Baytoo assembly seat in Barmer, might be fielded from the Barmer Lok Sabha, which is dominated by Jats and Muslims. Some party workers believe that Manvendra, who could be shifted to Jodhpur or Jalore Lok Sabha seat, might go back to BJP in protest.

Manvendra rubbished these talks among his party workers as mere rumours. “There is as much truth in this (him rejoining BJP), as is in the claim that 300 terrorists were killed in the

Balakot

air strikes,” Manvendra said.

Manvendra, who was in Jaisalmer, said that the BJP leaders were misleading people by stating wrong figures on the Balakot air strikes. “No one knows the truth. The IAF chief has clarified that it is not the pilots’ job to see how many people died in the air strike. Nobody knows anything about the ground casualties. The pilots did not see it but BJP president Amit Shah is giving the number of terrorists killed. May be Shah sources in Pakistan. The truth will come to light and cannot be hidden forever,” said Manvendra.

The Congressman said that the party has never expressed suspicion on the working of Army forces but the BJP was taking advantage of the soldiers’ bravery.

With regard to cabinet minister Harish Choudhary’s candidature for Barmer Lok Sabha seat, Manvendra said that he had no objection to it. He said it was for the party central leadership to decide whom to field from where. Manvendra, though, is regularly meeting Congress workers in Barmer Lok Sabha seat, which includes the

Jaisalmer district

. He said the Congress would give a clean government at the centre and would take the country forward.