Siliguri (West Bengal) Aug 20 - Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh's expulsion from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not affect the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of West Bengal, according to leaders of the movement here.

'I don't think Singh's expulsion from the party would affect our movement for a separate Gorkhaland state in the region. Besides Singh, other BJP leaders have already spoken about this issue in parliament and people are now very much aware of this demand,' Amar Singh Rai, a Gorkha academic, told IANS.

He said the BJP had already included the Gorkhaland demand in their agenda and other senior leaders were raising the issue at the national level also.

Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) president Madan Taman also said: 'It will not affect our movement.'

Jaswant Singh, who has held defence, finance and external affairs portfolios in BJP-led governments, was expelled for his controversial book praising Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence'.

'Jaswant Singh is now free of party fetters. This development is a boon and not a bane for the Gorkhaland movement.