Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Monday came out in support of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying that "enough of negative politics and mudslinging".
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi responded with a demand that the "enemies of the party" (Sinha) must be "removed" at the earliest.
"Enough of negative politics and mudslinging by opponents on our political leaders, be it Kejriwal, Lalu (Prasad) Yadav or Sushil Modi," Sinha said in a series of tweets.
Backing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, Sinha said, "Individually I hold all political leaders, especially Kejriwal, in high esteem for their credibility, struggle and commitment towards society."
The BJP leader's remarks came at a crucial time when the party has been accusing both the leaders of being involved in corruption cases.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Modi has been accusing Lalu Prasad and his children - Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti - of being involved in corrupt land deals.
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Kejriwal has been accused of being involved in corrupt practices by suspended AAP legislator Kapil Mishra.
Sinha, taking a dig at his own party the BJP, said: "Our BJP surely believes in honesty and transparency, which seldom go together, but must go together. An allegation is only that unless proved."
Sinha, who represents the Patna Sahib constituency in the Lok Sabha also said that it was "high time to substantiate your claims.. or pack up! Can't just keep feeding media with one night stories and sensationalising. Enough is enough".
Slamming Sinha, Modi said that it was not necessary to believe the actor and the party must remove such "traitors".
"It is not necessary to believe the man who is famous. The traitors must be sent out immediately," Modi tweeted.
"When Nitish (Kumar) didn't come out in support of Lalu (Prasad), in his support the enemies of BJP has jumped now," Modi said.
Sinha has been criticisng the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections after he was sidelined in the party.
He has backed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Kejriwal on several occasions.
--IANS
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