Former Union Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha joined the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata on March 13 ahead of the West Bengal elections. While joining the party, the senior leader recollecting the Kandahar plane highjack incident of 1999 said that the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wanted to offer herself as a hostage in exchange for passengers of the hijacked plane for the country. “The CM was ready to be a hostage and had proposed for it in the cabinet,” the minister said in a video.

Recalling his days with her as a colleague, the former senior BJP leader said the Trinamool chief has been a “fighter” right from the beginning.

“I want to tell you today that when the Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar, there was a discussion happening in the Cabinet. Mamatji offered to go herself as a hostage on the condition that the Indians are released in exchange. She was ready to make that sacrifice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee was released from SSKM Hospital on Friday evening after about 46 hours under medical supervision.

“Didi’s injury had halted all our political activities. Now that she is out of hospital, everything will pick up pace,” a source close to the chief minister said.

It was from the hospital that she decided to reschedule the release of the party’s poll manifesto on Sunday, coinciding with Nandigram Dibas, the day 14 people died in police firing in 2007 — one of the key events that catapulted her to power in 2011.

“A wounded tigress is at her most dangerous. Wait for the results,” a party insider said.