Modi is propaganda minister, not PM: Shatrughan Sinha

A top hero of the eighties, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP and twice a minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, Shatrughan Sinha is a veteran in Indian politics and arguably the most successful among those who transitioned from the world of cinema to the world of politics.
On Sunday, he will be hoping to launch his second stint in politics with the Congress, a month after quitting the BJP. Khaleej Times caught up with the man they lovingly call 'shotgun' to find out all about the big split and why Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be defeated as he plots his third straight election win from his home constituency of Patna Sahib.

Here are the excerpts:
On joining congress
Congress Party is the Grand Old Party - the party of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation to stalwarts like Vallabh Bhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi and also Rajiv (Gandhi) and Rahul (Gandhi).
On Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi is a youth icon. He has proved himself as the president of the Congress party by taking three states under his wings in the recent state elections - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. He will not let his opponents cross even the 100-mark in this election despite their best strength, strategies and gimmicks.
On BJP's old guard
I have tremendous regard and respect for BJP stalwarts like Nanaji Deshmukh, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani who has been a friend, philosopher, guide and the ultimate guru. I was taken under their wings, groomed and trained by them when I joined the BJP. I will always have a weakness for them.
On BJP's cold-shoulder
They announced Ravi Shankar Prasad's candidature from Patna all of a sudden. It would have been a great gesture, if they had bothered to at least tell me before doing so. It's what they did to LK Advani. He should have been offered some role in the party as a good gesture but what he got was a raw deal in the end.
As for me, I saw the writing on the wall when I heard that Patna Sahib has been given to our family friend Ravi Shankar Prasad on the television and not from the party's communication channel. They could have at least conveyed it to me. I am happy that I went for a new direction - the better and the right direction.
On BJP then and now
During Atal Behari Vajpayee's time, our party was in a different league altogether. It was a true democracy there. We always went for collective decisions but today it has become an authoritarian rule. Lokshahi se tanashah ban gaya hai. (It has become a dictatorship from democracy). One man show and two-men army. All job is done out of Prime Minister's Office.
Ministers don't matter. You can barely name five cabinet ministers of significance today. First name is Modi, second is Amit Shah who is not even a cabinet minister. There's no third name.
Where are they now?
The way BJP has ill-treated their former heroes is shameful. LK Advani, who got BJP to 200 from 2 seats, is today a nobody in the BJP. He is heartbroken. Murli Manohar Joshi, was such a learned man, an intellectual par excellence. Arun Shourie was a former minister of communications and IT. Where are they now? Former minister Yashwant Sinha was so troubled that he quit BJP.
On PM Modi
Our PM believes in the 'shoot and scoot' policy. He doesn't answer questions. Doesn't have any accountability. If you ask him about the promise of jobs for the youth, he will talk about Pulwama (attack). If you ask him about farmers and whether they have been given their own rights, he will talk about rashtravaad (nationalism). You can't fool all the people all the time.
He is so repetitive and appears hollow, especially at times when he brings up things like the late Rajiv Gandhi and calls him "bhrashtachari (corrupt) number 1" It's a total sign of desperation and an imminent defeat. We hope and pray that it is not a humiliating one for him but it is definitely a sign of an imminent defeat, desperation, frustration. He is beginning to prove that this is about one man show and two-man army. He has lost all his credibility. Whatever he says, people don't believe.
He is no longer a role model. I would say our PM is following (Joseph) Goebbels' Big Lie theory.
Tell a lie several times over. He is the prachar mantri, not pradhan mantri (he is the propaganda minister, not prime minister). He is busy self-promoting. His reliability is shaken. I used to call him dashing, dynamic, action hero prime minister but even I am disappointed with him now.
On the big welcome
The Congress party has accepted me wholeheartedly though I am very grateful to other political parties. I am friends with the Iron Lady Mamata Banerjee, who has always been inviting me. I have great regards for her. (Arvind) Kejriwal and I are friends. I have been getting offers from the south. Lalu Prasad Yadav is our family friend. He has always been there through thick and thin. We have always shared our joys and sorrow. He has been a victim of conspiracies and circumstances created by, you know who. So, it's now time to respond to all these and the best way to respond is now at the election.
On grand alliance in UP, Bihar
The Congress may be fighting just nine seats in Bihar but see it in totality. It is the grand alliance and the people in Bihar have a tremendous sympathy for Lalu and his family.
Tejashwi (Prasad) is doing very well. He has matured so well into his role in such a less time. He speaks so well and the way he draws crowd, people seem to adore him. So, let's hope that our alliance will sweep Bihar and everywhere else in India including UP where Mayawatiji, Akhilesh Yadav and our friend Ajit Singh have formed a deadly political combination.
On giving it back to BJP
I am not sycophant. I can look into the eye and talk because I have nothing to hide. I am like an open book and I firmly believe like all of you that a party is bigger than an individual and nation is bigger than the party.
Whatever I have said, I have always done in the national interest. Be it demonetisation, or the complicated GST or certain unanswered questions over issues like Rafale deal. You may choose to agree or disagree with me but by the grace of God, there's never been a single allegation of corruption against me.
So, I have no skeletons in cupboard, nothing to hide. So I can look in their eye and ask them these questions. I forgive them and I shall forget them but I shall never go back to them. That's my final and firm opinion.
abhishek@khaleejtimes.com