A founding member of BJP three decades back,Jaswant Singh is no stranger to controversy and often faced ridicule and criticism for personally escorting terrorists to Kandahar during the Indian Airlines hijack crisis. For the second time in three years,the 71-year-old party veteran and a former union minister was in the eye of a storm for his writings but paid the price this time amid a furore over his just released book on the legacy of Pakistani founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah. A controversy erupted in July 2006 immediately after Singh released a book titled A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India¿ in which Singh insinuated that a mole had existed in the prime ministerial office during the tenure of prime minister P V Narasimha Rao,who had leaked information to American sources. Jaswant for most part is not among the BJP leaders always in the limelight. Known as a man of few words - a mumble in a baritone - Jaswant ,an ex-officer of the Indian Army has maintained a low political profile through his decades-long career. Jaswant,who is one of the few Indian politicians to have beent he minister for Finance,Defence and External Affairs-all during the two tenures of prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. But it was the hijack crisis in December 1999 which dealt a body blow to his image for escorting three terrorists in an official aircraft to Kandahar in Afghanistan who were released by India in exchange of passengers from the hijacked Indian Airlines plane. There were many who thought it was unbecoming of a foreign minister to have accompanied the three terrorists. Controversy hovered him again when he was accused of illegal drug possession after he allegedly offered milk laced with opium (kesar),a traditional drink in the country¿s north,to his guests at his ancestral house during a function called Riyan in October last year. Jaswant,who was dragged to the court,denied the charge. Soon after releasing his controversial book in July 2006,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh challenged him to name the mole. In response,Jaswant Singh sent a letter to him. The letter,Manmohan Singh said later,had no signature,and no name of any mole. Jaswant Singh then backed off,saying his views on the subject were based on a hunch. A liberal democrat,who supported economic reforms when he was the finance minister during the BJP-led NDA government,Jaswant has established a reputation of being his own man. He is also a prolific writer. The first big 'action during Jaswants stint as finance minister came in the form of the UTI restructuring which involved a huge amount of taxpayers money to bail out the two million unit holders of US-64. Born on January 3,1938,Jaswant who is not from a RSS background,is widely regarded for his handling of relations with the United States which were strained after the 1998 Indian nuclear tests but which ameliorated soon after culminating in the visit of U.S. President Clinton to India. His skill as a negotiator and diplomat during talks with the United States has been well acknowledged by his US counterpart Strobe Talbott. And that deep baritone voice,with the slightest hint of a tremble completes the persona that he so consciously presents.
