Shatrughan Sinha joins opposition leaders at Kolkata rally, says not afraid if BJP removes him
Kolkata, Jan 19: Sharing the stage with opposition leaders in Kolkata, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha Saturday called for changing the government in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and said he was not afraid of being removed from the ruling party.
He insisted he would continue to "show mirror" to the party and call "a spade a spade".
Sinha has been at odds with his party over several issues and has criticised the demonetisation exercise and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. He has said he was attending the rally hosted by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata as a representative of the Rashtriya Manch, a political action group launched by former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
"My elder brother Yashwant Sinha was saying that after this I will be definitely removed from the party, I told him 'koi baat nahi hai' (no problem)," he said at the rally attended by several opposition leaders, including from the AAP and the RJD.
Known for his powerful dialogues in Hindi movies, Sinha said, "He is in Bharatiya Janata Party but before that he is with Bharat ki janata."
Two days ago, Sinha had said he did not receive "respect" in the BJP and will attend the Kolkata rally, which was being projected as a show of strength by anti-BJP political parties.
Sinha was called to make his speech after several senior leaders such as former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and chief ministers H.D. Kumaraswamy, N Chandrababu Naidu and Arvind Kejriwal had made their speech.
He spoke at length and attacked the Modi government on the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal, demonetisation and implementation of GST.
"If you keep suppressing facts, people will continue to say 'chaukidar chor hain'," he said, using the word Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been employing to criticise the prime minister on the Rafale jet deal issue.
Sinha praised Banerjee, Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Sinha, who served as a Union minister in the NDA cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said there was "lokshahi" during Vajpayee's tenure and now it's "tanashahi" (dictatorship).
He urged all leaders present at the dais to walk together to usher a change in the country and facilitate a new leadership to take over.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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