Shatrughan Sinha avoids question on Ram temple; joins Mamata’s opposition rally

Kolkata, Jan 19: Sidelined BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Friday avoided media when he was asked about the Ayodhya land dispute case. He went a step ahead and joined an anti-BJP rally organised by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground.

The actor-politician has been at odds with the BJP on several decisions taken by the BJP-led Centre, including demonetisation, and has criticised it as a "one-man show".

When a reporter asked him a question on Ram Temple, Sinha simply said, ''Khamosh'' (quiet) and walked away.

Asked if Banerjee could become prime minister after the 2019 election, he said, "PM will be decided by people and leaders of the parties based on numbers after the election. But she is certainly in the category of best personality."

"She is no more only a regional leader but a prominent national leader," Sinha, her colleague in the NDA Cabinet of former prime minister A B Vajpayee, said over phone from Mumbai.

Asked about the speculation in the media that he might take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the Lok Sabha election as a candidate of the united opposition, Sinha said, "I neither confirm this nor deny it."

"It's churning period for me. I will speak on these issues only when the weather changes for good," he said, appearing to be philosophical.
The BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib constituency is a "star speaker" at the rally.

The rally is attended by leaders from opposition parties, including HD Deve Gowda, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Chandra Babu Naidu, AAP's Arvind Kejriwal, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, BSP's Satish Mishra, besides Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie.

It is being projected as a show of strength by anti-BJP political parties ahead of the general election, expected to be held in April-May.