Senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha jumped the guns yet again on Friday to pick up lK Advani as his choice for the Prime Minister’s post.
He also virtually dismissed party chief Rajnath Singh’s “most popular leader” remark for Narendra Modi claiming if one went by that logic then Amitabh Bachchan should be the President of India. Sinha’s comments on BJP’s probable PM candidate come despite a gag order by the party top brass, which has advised leaders not to speak on this subject outside party platform.
“Advani may not be a contender. But my personal view is that Advani is the best for Prime Minister’s candidate suited from all aspects, including seniority,” Sinha told a TV news channel. The former Union Minister and lok Sabha MP from Patna Saheb claimed Advani’s contribution to the BJP was ‘immense’ and credited the veteran for increasing party’s tally in Parliament over a period of time.
“Popularity alone cannot be the criterion. If that is the criterion, then the most popular person in the country today is Amitabh Bachchan. It is our wish that he becomes the President,” he quipped. Sinha felt that projecting Modi has the potential to divert attention from the raging issues of UPA Government’s scams and price rise.
He acknowledged that Modi was good and a competent administrator and very popular. “There are no two opinions about this. He is capable like (MP Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” he said. last week, Sinha had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and praised him saying he was Prime Minister material.
The BJP, however, refused to confront its MP Shatrughan Sinha and even requested the media to “ignore” him. Asked about Sinha’s latest salvo, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi was cautious in her reaction. “Our party president is aware of these comments and he will take cognisance. I am not authorised to speak on the issue,” she said. When pressed for a reaction, she said, “Please ignore Sinha”.
Party vice-president Uma Bharti had also compared Sinha with Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh saying their comments should not be taken seriously. “Best punishment for them is to ignore them,” Bharti had said.