Not ready to back down yet, Sinha attacks government again
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha continued his attacks on the government while sharing the dais with AAP's Arvind Kejriwal and Congress leader Manish Tewari at the release of the latter's book "Tidings of Troubled Times." Sinha hit out at Modi's "Shalya" barb, asserted that he doesn't care about disciplinary action against him and underlined the importance of an opposition in a democracy. Know more!
On October 4, PM Modi, while referring to leaders like Arun Shourie and Sinha who criticized the government's economic policies, said that such "people suffer from Shalya-vrutti (pessimism)." Shalya, Mahabharata's character, was Pandavas' uncle, a powerful mace fighter and charioteer tricked by Duryodhana to fight for Kauravas. Using Mahabharata analogy, Sinha called the Modi-Shah duo Duryodhana and Dushasana, the only famous Kauravas.
Sinha dared BJP to take disciplinary action against him. He said the day it happens "will be the best day of (his) life" as he had not done anything that warranted such an action. He said he had given his "blood and sweat for this party," exclaiming that this type of personality-politics is a passing phase and the party's value system will remain intact.
Sinha acknowledged opposition's importance in a democracy. He said if a party has the numbers, they should reach out to "other parties and people" and take them along. Taking a dig at BJP's "Congress-mukt Bharat" slogan, Sinha said that earlier no one spoke about "Mukt-this Mukt-that" as in a democracy without "debates and discussions", consensus won't be there, killing "the very fabric of democracy."
Sinha urged people to "stand up" and save our democracy as "fear and democracy cannot go together." Again rebutting the "job applicant at 80" jibe, Sinha said that he comes from a region that produced a famous freedom fighter Babu Kunwar Singh. He said Kunwar Singh fought 1857's first war of independence at age 80. "So there is no bar for fighting for freedom."
When Sinha was questioned about the way forward following his anti-government tirade, Sinha said this question cannot be answered as one is "not acting in isolation" and that it depends on the "context" which is controlled by "circumstances." He said he is "satisfied that a debate has started" and that had he not spoken out, PM wouldn't "have spoken for more than an hour."
BJP condemned Sinha for being an "unabashed apologist for the corrupt and anti-poor" UPA government and for finding 'a new ally in Congress'. Sinha had asserted that he was Mahabharata's Bhishma and won't allow the 'economy's disrobing'. BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni said this proves that Sinha is on Kauravas' side and that Congress is "influencing his economics," which is "unfortunate."
