Yashwant Sinha says Mamata offered self in exchange for Kandahar hostages

Kolkata: Shortly after joining the Trinamool Congress (TMC), former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday claimed that Mamata Banerjee had offered herself to be taken as hostage in exchange for passengers of the hijacked plane in ‘Kandahar incident’ for the country.”

Speaking to reporters after joining the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, the former BJP leader said that the recent attack on Banerjee in Nandigram served as the “tipping point” behind his decision to join the TMC

In 1999, passengers of Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, were taken hostage by Pakistan-backed hijackers. The plane was taken to Afghanistan’s Kandahar. India had to release three terrorists, including Masood Azhar to ensure the hostages’ release. Sinha was the union finance minister at the time under the leadership of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.