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Shatrughan Sinha walks out of BJP meeting

Deepshikha Ghosh in Amritsar

Shatrughan Sinha, member of the Rajya Sabha and a senior Bharatiya Janata Party member, walked out of the party's conclave in Amritsar on Friday, miffed that his protests against Defence Minister George Fernandes's recall went unheard.

The actor, one of the BJP's star election campaigners, was upset that the party had ignored his plea against reinstating Fernandes before the Justice K Ventakaswami Commission probing the Tehelka scandal had exonerated him.

"I tried my best to raise my grievances in the meeting," Sinha told reporters before leaving the two-day national executive on the first evening itself. "But neither did I get any opportunity nor was there any move from the other side [the party leadership] to discuss the issue."

Sinha had recently written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- the second time since May -- complaining about the party's move to compromise on its principles by re-inducting Fernandes.

When Fernandes had quit the government in March, he had vowed not to return unless cleared by the commission.

In an interview after Fernandes was brought back, Sinha had said, "The skies would not have fallen if Fernandes had waited for the commission's report, as he had quit on moral grounds."

After attending the opening day of the national executive, he said: "I stand by my contentions on Fernandes. This is not a party of sycophants, but a democratic party."

Sinha was not expected to attend the national executive meeting, but did so after Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, to whom he is close, reportedly berated him for raising the banner of revolt publicly.

"There is no question of being unhappy with the party," Sinha said. "I did not make any anti-party statement, but spoke from my heart, for the party's interests and that of the people and the nation."

Asked if he was disappointed that his contributions to the BJP over the years had been ignored after the party had come to power, he replied: "I will not challenge nor deny the interpretation."

But he added, "I don't believe in a lollipop culture that means I will speak out only if denied a toy. I believe in straight talking."

Sinha joined the BJP when it was in the opposition. "I am in the party for the moment and have no intentions to quit. And while I am in it I will be a disciplined worker. If the party thinks I am unfit or wants to get rid of me, I will accept the decision with respect," he said.

But he asserted that after his failed attempt to raise his concerns in Friday's session, he would make no move now. "The party has to take up the issue and I will only respond to it."

Asked if he would campaign for the BJP in the forthcoming elections in key states, Sinha retorted: "I am not an astrologer that I can predict the future. It all depends on my priorities and my usefulness to the party."

He said he was preoccupied with a play at the moment. Earlier this year, just before the assembly elections in May, he had quietly taken off to the US, leaving the party in the lurch.

Was he satisfied with the party's response to his grievances? "Satisfaction is the last word in the dictionary of an artiste or politician. I had no personal motives in raising the Fernandes issue."

Asked why he chose a public forum to raise the issue, he shot back: "Besides being an MP and a national executive member, I am a human being and an artiste. You cannot bottle up and wait for the party forum all the time."

Indo-Asian News Service

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