Lucknow: Former Finance, as well as Defence Minister in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government Yashwant Sinha along with his son and senior Bhartiya Janata party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha, met Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav at his office in Uttar Pradesh state capital on Thursday.
The Saffron Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) Shatrughan along with former BJP leader Yashwant shared dais with Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh in Lucknow on Thursday and targeted the Modi government on Rafale deal, demonetisation and called for grand alliance in UP, Bihar for LS polls.
The two leaders, who were in Lucknow to attend the birth anniversary celebrations of socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan at SP headquarters in Lucknow, made a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre and called for its ouster.
While the Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale deal in Delhi, Shatrughan said the Centre should clarify its stand on the fighter plane deal.
“Why did the government deny the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has expertise in making planes, a place in the deal? Why and how was a company included in the deal which has not even manufactured the components of a motorcycle,” he said.
Yashwant Sinha said the current scenario was worse than the days of Emergency. “It is time to make a strong ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance). If people do not wake up even now, it will be too late,” he said.
Yashwant Sinha along with Shatrughan met Akhilesh Yadav, likely to join Samajwadi Party
He indicated that the Yadav scions of Bihar and UP were the hopes for ‘mahagathbandhan’. “In Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav is fully ready and in UP Akhilesh Yadav is well prepared,” he added.
Praising Akhilesh, he said: “He is the rising star of India’s politics. Like the Mahabharat, we have to defeat Duryodhan and Dusshasan. This is not the responsibility of the elderly leaders but young leaders like Akhilesh who have to take on those Duryodhan and Dushshasan and defeat them.”
Both Yashwant and Shatrughan are from Bihar and it is expected that they are likely to join Akhilesh Yadav’s Cycle symbol party.
Addressing the programme, Akhilesh said, “A revolution took place in 1977 and the then dispensation was wiped out. In the same manner, the BJP will be wiped out from Uttar Pradesh. Today, people from UP and Bihar are beaten up and made to flee Gujarat. In future, people of UP and Bihar will make the BJP flee their states.”
“People often ask me why I speak against the BJP despite being its member. I tell them that I speak the truth. If speaking the truth is rebellion, then I am indeed a rebel,” Shatrughan said.
Attacking the PM, Shatrughan said: “Now, ‘jumlebaazi’ (rhetoric) won’t work. I am not against the party. I am against those people who are autocratic. Demonetisation was not the decision of the BJP. Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have ruined the poor.”
After the event, Akhilesh had a closed-door meeting with the two leaders.
 leader Shatrughan Sinha met Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav at his office.){kind=link}
