Patna: BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha Monday drew flak from a fellow party parliamentarian who accused him of siding with opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad by questioning Narendra Modi government on the Rafale deal.
Sharing a screenshot of the Patna Sahib MP remarks quoted in the media here a day ago that there have been irregularities in the Rafale deal and that the Centre should seek “apology” from the people of the country, BJP Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha asked him to first make his position clear.
“You should first decide where you stand. With Modi or against Modi. The people of the country will settle the account accordingly,” R K Sinha said on his facebook page.
Shatrughan Sinha’s comment came close on the heels of relentless attacks on the Modi government, through his twitter handle, in the aftermath of media reports, quoting former French President Francois Hollande that Reliance was selected as the offset partner by Dassault under pressure from Indian government.
His twitter handle is replete with retweets of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, who have come up with fierce criticism of the Modi government on the issue.
In his own tweets, Shatrughan Sinha has called the controversy surrounding the Rafale deal a serious issue and called for the need for the government to come clean.
R K Sinha also said Shatrughan Sinha has been, these days, singing the same tune as Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad..he has gone to the extent of advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak the truth. It is the height of audacity.
R K Sinha’s attack on Shatrughan Sinha seems to have political significance.
It is widely believed that in the event of the actor-turned-politician not being considered for a third consecutive run in the Lok Sabha polls next year, R K Sinha or a member of his family could be considered for Patna Sahib seat.
The Bihari Babu has, nevertheless, been putting up a brave front and maintaining that he would be contesting from the same seat even if not given a ticket by the BJP with the cryptic remark situation may be different, location will be the same Patna Sahib.
The actor-turned-politician has been in a sulk for quite some time with sources in the party claiming that he has been upset over not getting a ministerial berth in the current dispensation though he was a member of the Union council of ministers in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Party sources also claim that he had grown bitter afte being ignored by the party leadership during 2015 Bihar assembly poll, wherein the saffron party did not perform well.
The actor-turned-politician has, in the recent past, been calling the party a one man show two man army an obvious barb aimed at the Prime Minister besides party chief Amit Shah.
He has also been showering praises on opposition leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee and DMK chief M K Stalin besides Lalu, Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi. He has also shared the stage, on more than one occasion, with Sangh Parivar dissidents like Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Pravin Togadia.
PTI