The BJP has reached out to its MP Shatrughan Sinha with a request not to speak out of turn on the NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate issue. Sinha’s recent statements, first praising Bihar Nitish Kumar and then batting for lK Advani as PM candidate, were seen targeted at Narendra Modi.
TV reports claim senior leader Yashwant Sinha, general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy and spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain spoke to Sinha during the day and tried to placate him. BJP chief Rajnath Singh is believed to have asked these three leaders to speak to Sinha.
“I am a worker of the party and will continue to work for the party. Media used my statement out of context,” Sinha told a TV news channel later.
A few days ago, Sinha had countered BJP chief comments on Modi’s popularity, saying, “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”.