New Delhi, Feb. 28: BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha today suggested L.K. Advani was not allowed to work and eased out by "in-house politics" as some in the party had "vested interests", and not because of non-performance.
The actor-turned-politician spoke his mind in a series of tweets and claimed author Chetan Bhagat had tried to draw a comparison between Rahul Gandhi and Advani during a TV debate.
Shatrughan slammed Chetan for sounding pro-establishment - " Sarkari and Darbari (pro-government and courtier-like)" - and hailed Advani as a "highly respected, able and acceptable leader" who was the driving force behind the rise of the BJP over the years.
"I beg your pardon Chetan! Was he (Advani) really removed because he did not work enough, or was he not allowed to work any further and eased out of the scene because some of our people, out of fears, complexes, insecurities or maybe vested interests did not want him on the scene," Shatrughan tweeted.
The Bihar MP is amonga group of BJP leaders sidelined under the present dispensation and who occasionally take a swipe at the Narendra Modi government. During the 2015 Bihar elections, Shatrughan had been openly critical of his party while expressing support for rival and chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Although Shatrughan did not specify what exactly Chetan said during the TV debate, he indicated that the author had cited the example of Advani while trying to paint Rahul as a non-performer.
"I am a little disappointed in our intellectual friend Chetan Bhagat who sounded like a 'Sarkari and Darbari' on National Channels yesterday. While hitting out at our friend and senior national leader Rahul Gandhi (saying he is not result oriented and should be replaced), I feel he made a faux pas or shall I say an unwarranted comparison with our highly respected, able and acceptable leader," Shatrughan tweeted.
He said people like him and Advani had been marginalised and not invited to campaign in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh polls possibly due to "in-house politics".
The actor, known to be a crowd-puller, had not campaigned in the Bihar polls, either. "Doesn't everyone know that? Today, he (Advani) or even people like me are not seen anywhere in any campaign, not because we are not tried, tested and effective, but because of, you may call it in-house politics."
Shatrughan said he and Advani had refrained "from creating any scene" because they believed in party discipline. "We believe in the discipline of the party and we do not create a scene. We are not invited...and well, today we are not even interested, at the fag end of the (UP) campaign."
Shatrughan called himself an "Advani loyalist" and said he owed his place in the party to the veteran, whom he also credited with the BJP's rise from just two Lok Sabha seats in 1984. "I am an Advani loyalist. Whatever I am in the Party is mainly because of him. The growth and prosperity of the party from 2 seats to where it reached, if not wholly and solely, has been mostly because of Mr Advani's contribution and leadership."
