Shatrughan keeps suspense on joining RJD

mumbai — Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, is keeping the cards close to his chest about whether he would join the Rashtriya Janata Dal and contest the coming Lok Sabha elections on its ticket.

“I’ve been advised by my family to not make any official announcement till January 14. The time is not right until then. But my closeness to and fondness for Laluji and his family is no secret.

“As far as contesting the 2019 elections goes, my constituency will always be Bihar. Once a Bihari Babu always a Bihari Babu,” he said. He was replying to a question whether he was officially joining hands with the jailed RJD leader Lalu Prasad, whom he met in prison in Ranchi recently.

Sinha, who has been attacking his party too, said BJP was practising politics of vendetta on him.

When asked about the withdrawal of VIP treatment at airports, Sinha said: “It is nothing but the politics of vendetta being followed by the honourable Prime Minister’s dedicated soldiers who think he will be pleased with such malicious attempts to pull me down.”

Replying to a question whether the move was related to his joining hands with Lalu Prasad, the politician said: “Of course it is! They first withdrew the privilege, as you call it, from Laluji and now me. And mind you other politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan have been given the VIP privilege at the airport. Why am I being singled out for this treatment?

“Nowadays you have to make friends with the friends of those in power. Some of my colleagues from the film industry are very good at doing that. I can’t pretend to like my political compatriots if I don’t like them. Nor can I pretend not to like those whom I am close to,” Sinha said. —

The time is not right until then. But my closeness to and fondness for Laluji and his family is no secret.

Shatrughan Sinha, BJP MP