Shatrughan Sinha says BJP should not deny that many lost their jobs after demonetisation

Senior BJP leader and former union minister Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday said the BJP would be able to live up to the expectations of people only if it ceased to be "a one-man show and a two-man army."

He said that the people of the country, especially the youth, farmers, and traders were frustrated and unhappy with the policies of the party. 

"I feel we face a great challenge in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in view of the dissatisfaction among the youth, farmers and traders. We must see the writing on the wall and avoid taking our opponents lightly," the BJP Lok Sabha MP told PTI in Patna.

He also denied the reports that he was joining some other political party.

"I had not joined the BJP to leave it. But I would not mince words when I say that we cannot meet our challenges if we continue to be a one-man show and a two-man army," he said in a veiled reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah's hold on the party.

He said the party should stay united and seek blessings of party’s senior old-timers who have made enormous contributions to its growth.

"I cannot understand the fault of veterans like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha, and Arun Shourie. Why were they sidelined or allowed to become estranged. We all have been like a family. If there were any mistakes, why were there no efforts at reconciliation?" 

Sinha stressed that the party should not deny that many lost their jobs after demonetisation. "The move to ban high-value notes last year has hardly weeded out black money from the system. GST has also come across as a complicated taxation system that seems to have benefitted only Chartered Accountants. Then we have rising oil prices despite fall in international rates of crude," he said. 

"We have more examples which smack of growing arrogance in the party. The bill recently tabled in the Rajasthan Assembly, which could have serious ramifications with regard to the right to freedom of expression, is a case in point", Sinha added.

(With Agency inputs)

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