In a sharp attack on his own party government, BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha said in New Delhi on November 1 that demonetisation and GST were like a double dose of bitter pills and his party should “read the writing on the wall”.
Using a Hindi idiom that GST after the note ban was like karela pe neem chadha (bitter gourd laced with neem leaves), the actor-turned-politician said, “We have been taught that the nation is bigger than any party or individual. When I speak in the interest of the nation, one should realise that it will help our party as well ... So many people have become unemployed, businesses shut and so many homes destroyed. One should move beyond the cocktail circuit and see what’s happening.”
Sharing the dais with Congress leader Manish Tewari at a panel discussion on Mr. Tewari’s book, the BJP lawmaker said, “If a lawyer can talk about finances, if a TV actress can become a HRD Minister and if a chaiwala [tea vendor] can become... you know what I am referring to, then why cannot I talk about economy?”
His obvious targets were Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, who was earlier the HRD Minister, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He, however, did not name anyone in particular.
Later, in a short media interaction, he claimed he was not challenging his party but showing mirror to it in national interest.
