In BJPs Partition debate,a Pranab reminder: Syama Prasad backed it

That is how Bengal and Punjab got divided. This is how the Sylhet district in undivided Assam went to Pakistan,now Bangladesh, Mukherjee said. Now if they BJP want to forget their own legacy,only God can help them, he said.

Mukherjee also took a dig at the BJP for the partys obsession with Jinnah. He said he was also completely clueless as to why the BJP was so deeply engaged with Jinnahs legacy as the issue had no relevance in contemporary Indian politics not at least for political parties to evaluate his place in history.

He did not,however,shy away from giving his own take on Pakistans founder. I cannot ignore this fact that he was a great protagonist of the two-nation theory. But I have great faith in his commitment which he made as Governor General of Pakistan that in Pakistan,all religious minorities will be protected, Mukherjee said.

I dont know what would have happened if he had remained lived for a longer period. It is really unfortunate that within a very short span of time,Pakistan lost two of its stalwarts Jinnah and Liaqat Ali Khan, he said.

Mukherjee said he was at a loss to understand the reasons for BJP kept getting into crises over this issue. Why cant they allow the history to remain where it is? What is the relevance of the evaluation of Jinnah in the context of contemporary Indian politics? And let that job be done by the historians. If you want to play the role of historians,fine,but there you should try to be objective. I am really at a loss to understand why BJP leaders are so eager to evaluate I want to know what is prompting them to so deeply engage on this, he said.

He also took objection to the fact that some BJP leaders were trying to hold Nehru and Sardar Patel responsible for Indias partition,saying these leaders were looking at history through a distorted prism. How can you erase Nehrus contribution as maker of modern India,his contribution in establishing the largest functioning parliamentary democracy,in providing a constitution within two and half years of Independence It is these things that make a man great, he said.

The remarks came even as the BJP hurtled from one crisis to another. Former Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri opened a front against party president Rajnath Singh today when he raked up an old letter he had written to him,demanding to know why he had been removed as the state chief minister when he commanded a majority support in the state legislative party.

Speaking to The Indian Express,Khanduri said: What is happening in the party is unfortunate and I only hope that things get better soon. For,the state of the BJP affects the national interest. This letter is,however,an issue between the central leadership and me. He said the party missed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees leadership at this juncture.

Speaking in Jamshedpur,Rajnath acknowledged the receipt of the letter but refused to elaborate. Khanduri is believed to have written to Rajnath before its Shimla chintan baithak earlier this month,but was said to be following the crisis in the Rajasthan BJP unit closely where BJP Legislative Party leader Vasundhara Raje was asked to put in her papers for the partys defeat in the elections even when she commanded an overwhelming majority among party MLAs.

Vasundhara,meanwhile,called a meeting of the Legislative Party where 68 of the 78 party MLAs in the state,including Rajes fiercest detractors Ganshyam Tiwari and Gulab Chand Kataria turned up.

There were no signs of the rumblings in the party abating,though. With the BJP having decided to go slow on the statements made by Arun Shourie made to Shekhar Gupta,Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express,on NDTVs Walk the Talk,sources said the party was unlikely to take any harsh action. For the record though,the party is compiling articles written by Shourie that are against the party or its leadership.

Meanwhile,Sudheendra Kulkarni,former aide to L K Advani,has joined a Ministry of Railways panel on infrastructure development. Kulkarni attended the Amit Mitra-headed panels meeting on August 10. Asked about the propriety of attending the panel meet,even before formally dissociating himself form the party,Kulkarni said: Mamataji was aware of my background. Also,there are no material benefits attached to the position. He,however,ruled out the possibility of joining the Trinamool Congress.

One of the best known partys young faces in the 14th Lok Sabha,Kiren Rijiju,also left the BJP a couple of days ago to join the Congress. Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh today compared the party with the Ku Klux Klan. Asked why he was expelled form the BJP,he said: Please dont ask me. I am outside the magic circle of advisers or thinkers. Because,I am not from the RSS,is that why? So are we a political party? Is the BJP becoming some kind of an Indian version of Ku Klux Klan?