BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, whose ties with the party appear to be all but severed, Thursday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Main bhi Chowkidar" campaign as a hollow rhetoric that lacked punch.
Sinha, who is expected to join the Mahagathbandhan comprising the Congress and the RJD besides several smaller parties, came out with a series of tweets decrying the campaign that is meant to be a riposte to AICC president Rahul Gandhi's "Chowkidar hi chor hai" barb at Modi.
"Happy Holi to you, Sirji. Once again I will remind you politely but firmly do not get into the sting of the operations of #Chowkidar. The more you are defensive of Chowkidar, the more the nation will be reminded of unanswered questions about the Rafale deal which the people have been desperate to know," Sinha's tweeted.
The tweet came in his trademark style refraining from mentioning the prime minister by name but dropping ample hints to suggest whom he was referring to.
"By the way, Sir, in a very sudden, unprepared and defiant mood you addressed the Chowkidars of the nation (so-called 25 lakh.. don't know the basis of this figure, why not 21 or 2.5). May not have gone down well with the people and the chowkidars, whose conditions are not desirable. Most of them live below poverty line," the actor-turned-politician said in another tweet.
"However, Sir, it is not important that you address them in lakhs or hundreds, your rhetoric was quite hollow and lacking punch/content. What was important was to address their plight, enhance their lifestyle, encourage them to live with dignity, better and regular pay scale," Sinha remarked.
"Since you still are our Hon'ble PM of the Nation, I am still with you... However, wishing you lots of love, luck, best wishes and of course a very colourful Holi," he said in his final tweet.
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Sinha is likely to be fielded by the Mahagathbandhan from Patna Sahib, the seat he is representing for the second consecutive term.
The BJP has not announced its candidates for Bihar, though there have been unconfirmed reports that its nominee for Patna Sahib could be Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad or Rajya Sabha member R K Singh.