Jaswant Singh's career a must-know for aspiring netas as ex minister & longtime MP passes
Singh was nominated on a BJP ticket to Rajya Sabha 5 times (1980,1986, 1998, 2004) and won elections to Lok Sabha 4 times (1990, 1991, 1996 and 2009).
- India News
- 3 min read
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A retired officer of Indian Army and a former Union Minister, Jaswant Singh passed away on Sunday at the age of 82. In 2014, he suffered a major head injury after which he was admitted to Army's Research and Referral hospital in Delhi. He was was in a state of coma ever since. Singh was the founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Known for his daring moves and diplomatic approach, Singh was one of India's longest-serving parliamentarians.
Jaswant Singh's political career highlights
Although Jaswant Singh entered politics in the late 1960s, he tasted success after he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1980. He was sent on a BJP ticket to Rajya Sabha for consecutively 5 times (1980,1986, 1998, 2004) and won elections to the Lok Sabha 4 times (1990, 1991, 1996 and 2009). The ex-BJP leader played a crucial role during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's administration. He served as Finance Minister in Vajpayee's government from 16 May 1996 to 1 June 1996. Later when Vajpayee again became the Prime Minister of India once again, Singh was appointed as the Minister for External Affairs of India (December 5, 1998, to July 1, 2002).
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During his term as the Minister for External Affairs, Jaswant Singh dealt with the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (1998-99). Prime Minister Vajpayee also appointed him as India's only representative to hold repeated and long-term discussions with the USA on matters related to nuclear policy and strategy. Later in 2002, he again became the Finance Minister and served until Vajpayee's government lost elections in May 2004. During his term, Singh had aggressively worked to bring many economic reforms in the country. After this, he served as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha from 2004 to 2009. In 2001, he had been awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the year.
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In 2009, Jaswant Singh faced displeasure and was sidelined by his party colleagues due to his sympathetic remarks towards the founder of Pakistan- Jinnah in the book written by him. Left to his parliamentary constituency of Darjeeling in West Bengal, he was denied the party ticket in 2014 elections. After this, he decided to contest the elections as an individual candidate, which he lost as he secured 1,01,286 votes while the BJP candidate swept 4,88,747 votes.
Jaswant Singh (January 3, 1938- September 27, 2020)
Singh was born on January 3, 1938, in a village Jasol, Barmer district, Rajasthan. His father was Thakur Sardar Singh Rathore of Jasol and mother was Kunwar Baisa. He was married to Sheetal Kanwar. Singh had two sons and his elder son Manvendra Singh is also a former member of the Parliament from Barmer. The retired India Army officer was also a skilled horseman and played Polo. Once, he was also appointed as the Patron-in-Chief of the Indian Polo Association. He wrote six books- 'Jinnah: India, partition', 'A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent', 'India at Risk: Mistakes', 'Defending India, 'Conflict and Diplomacy' and 'District Diary'.