Yashwant Sinha launches ‘Rashtra Manch’ to take on Centre; Shatrughan joins

Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday launched a political action group — Rashtra Manch — bringing together politicians across party lines to take on the Centre.

Addressing the meeting, Mr. Sinha likened the present situation to conditions prevailing 70 years ago when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated and said democracy and its institutions were under attack. He said the Narendra Modi government had reduced farmers to “the status of beggars” and presented “made-to-order” statistics to suit its interests. “Everybody in the BJP is living in fear. We are not,” he said

Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury, NCP MP Majeed Memon, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, former Gujarat Chief Minister Suresh Mehta and JD(U) leader Pavan Varma were among those who attended the event. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary and former Union ministers Som Pal and Harmohan Dhawan were also present.

BJP rebel parliamentarian Shatrughan Sinha too joined the group, saying he would not have joined if the party (the BJP) had allowed him to express his views. However, he stressed that his decision to back the front should not be seen as anti-party activity as it was in the national interest. Mr. Trivedi said the forum would carry out constructive criticism.

“Everybody in the BJP is living in fear. We are not,” he said

Yashwant Sinha launches ‘Rashtra Manch’ to take on Centre; Shatrughan joins

Shatrughan Sinha said his decision to back the front should not be seen as an anti-party activity as it was in national interest.