PATNA: Disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday asserted that he belonged to the "Bharatiya Janata" (Indian public) before he owed allegiance to any party.
Addressing a function in his Lok Sabha constituency of Patna Sahib, the actor-turned-politician lamented that the party (BJP) had become a "one man show two man army" a jibe aimed at Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who announced severing of his ties with the BJP earlier this year, speaking at the function said anybody speaking the truth nowadays was being dubbed an "anti-national" and asserted that "if that is the case, please count myself and Shatrughan Sinha as topmost among anti-nationals."
"Try asking anybody to name three ministers in the current regime. He will take the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi first, followed by Amit Shah who is not a minister.
Thereafter he will start fumbling," the former Union minister said at the function organized on the occasion of birth anniversary of former Premier Lal Bahadur Shastri.
"The entire nation was thrown into turmoil by demonetisation. And even before the people could fully recover from the shock, they came up with the complicated GST.
The tax regime was introduced with much fanfare, the announcement coming at the stroke of midnight as if we were getting Independence anew," the filmstar turned politician said.
"But instead of the much-touted one nation one tax, it has become one nation many taxes. When I speak about such things, many try to stop me reminding that I am a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But I say before the party, I belong to the Bharatiya Janata," he said.
The Patna Sahib MP also asked the regime to "come clean" on the Rafale deal a demand he has been raising for quite some time on the social media besides expressing displeasure over shoddy treatment given to veterans like Yashwant Sinha, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Arun Shourie.
"And those with darbari (sycophantic) mentality have the temerity to say that these people are speaking uncomfortable truths just because they were not given a ministerial berth," Sinha said.
Yashwant Sinha said "it is our right to point out wrongdoings but we see very little tolerance for the same.
We would however continue to do so even if we are dubbed as being agents of China and Pakistan.
If stating the truth, calling a spade a spade makes one an anti-national I would proudly say count me and Shatrughan Sinha, jointly, as among the front-rankers."