Thiruvananthapuram, December 25: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shatrughan Sinha on Monday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. On the sidelines of the launch of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister, Narendra Modi And His India', Sinha told The New Indian Express that Modi would not become prime minister again. While speaking at the event in Thiruvananthapuram the BJP MP said, “He is personally against the one-man show and the two-men army."
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister during the event, he said that in a democracy a party is bigger than the individual, but the nation is bigger than the party. Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other leaders also participated in the event. Shatrughan Sinha Targets Narendra Modi Over Vijay Mallya, Fuel Price Rise, Asks 'Yeh Sab Kya Ho Raha Hai?'
Sinha further added, "So, whatever I have said and done was in the national interest and certainly not in self-interest. So far, I have never asked for any favour, or anything for me.” The actor-turned-politician also said that people of the country needed jobs and better facilities instead of promises and jumlas (rhetoric). Sinha also attacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and HRD Minister Smriti Irani The BJP MP said If a lawyer could talk on financial issues, without having any experience and knowledge, if a TV actress can become the HRD minister, and a tea-seller, though he never was one but thanks to media propaganda, can reach this height, then why could not he express opinions on various government policies. Shatrughan Sinha Schools PM Modi: Rebel Leader Fact-Checks After BJP's Loss in Bypolls.
The former Union minister said he had enough experience in the film industry to speak about demonetisation in the national interest. Sinha said people can decide whether the prime minister was paradoxical or absurd after reading Tharoor's book. Meanwhile, Tharoor invited Sinha to join the Congress saying there was "room for a hero" like him. He also lashed out at Modi and said that despite being an exceptional orator, the prime minister mysteriously goes silent every time a Dalit or a Muslim gets flogged.
Tharoor slammed the PM for remaining silent on deaths due to mob lynching. Referring to PM Modi, The Congress MP said, "He is the most eloquent prime minister in recent memory. But when a Dalit is flogged or a Dalit student commits suicide or a Muslim Air Force Havildar's father is beaten to death on false suspicion of having beef, this eloquent prime minister becomes mysteriously silent". "This is one paradox. This book is full of paradoxes. You have somebody who says something and does the opposite," he added. Rebel Shatrughan Sinha Slams BJP on Karnataka Fiasco: 'Embarrassment, Loss of Moral Standing'.
Tharoor also pointed to the report of Ministry of Home Affairs which said 97 per cent of incidents of communal violence related to cow protection since independence happened during this regime. "Am not denigrating the prime minister through this book. You don't require 500 pages to do that. I have documented his career growth and analysed his four and half year growth in the book. This is a biographical profile of Modi," Tharoor said.
(With inputs from PTI)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 25, 2018 08:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).