Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and BJP’s rebel Lok Sabha MP Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for a change of government at the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The trio shared the stage with leaders of 22 political parties at a rally in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Grounds.
“There has not been a government at the Centre which has lied so much. The government has tried to subvert and corrupt constitutional institutions such as the CBI and the RBI…even the media. Defence has been neglected,” Shourie said.
Pitching for a united fight against the BJP, Shourie said, “It is possible to drive them out. Even Modi knows his grip is loosening. The aim should be to give one strong candidate against BJP (from each constituency). As Farooq-saab (Farooq Abdullah) said, this should be with a sense of sacrifice, not approached with a sense of gain. Everyone should not think ‘I should become the Prime Minister’.”
Shourie said opposition party leaders in each state should be present at rallies, and not send party representatives.
Stating that this is not a fight against a man but one against a “thought”, Yashwant Sinha said the country stands at dangerous crossroads. “I know how the BJP will react. They will say we are targeting one man.”
Two-term Lok Sabha member Shatrughan Sinha said, “During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time, it was democracy; now it is dictatorship,” he said. Stating that the PM should answer the questions on the Rafale fighter jet deal, he said, “The more he tries to hide things… the more the chorus will grow: ‘chowkidar chor hain’ (the guard is the thief)’.”
