'Shekhar Suman joining the BJP when the nation is going to the polls is like gatecrashing into a wedding just when the guests are being served their meal.'
"This was most unexpected! Shekhar Suman joining the Bharatiya Janata Party at this juncture when the nation is going to the polls is like gatecrashing into a wedding just when the guests are being served their feast-like meal," Shatrughan Sinha says about Shekhar Suman's induction in the BJP.
"Not that it's any of my concern. Aapne pucha toh maine keh diya. I've no hard feelings for Shekhar," Shatruji tells Subhash K Jha. "I wish him the very best in whatever he does,"
Shatruji, who is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Asansol constituency in Bengal as a Trinamool Congress candidate, wants to wish Shekhar Suman the very best.
"I don't know what has prompted him to take this peculiar plunge while the Lok Sabha elections are on. I hope he knows what he is doing."
Says Shatruji, "The timing of his joining the BJP is very intriguing. He has joined a political party, and that too the ruling party, while the Lok Sabha elections are on."
"Has he forgotten the royal defeat he got from me during the Lok Sabha election in May 2009 from Patna Sahib on the Congress ticket?", Shatruji asks.
"I was then an integral part of the BJP. That was a different BJP. Stalwarts like Shri L K Advani and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee whom I hero-worshipped were the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party."
"Today's BJP is a different entity altogether. If you know what I mean. The BJP has come a long way. I hope Shekhar Suman knows what he is getting into," Shatruji adds.
Interestingly, Shekhar Suman and Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi are both a part of the cast in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's spectacular Heeramandi.
Reacting to this, the inimitable Shotgun's parting shot: "Really? Is he in the series? I haven't seen it yet. I only know my daughter is being praised for her performance."
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com