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Patna, April 22, 2018 (PPI-OT): Former Indian minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership and the government, has quit the party saying that there is a threat to democracy under the present dispensation. The 80-year-old dissident BJP leader made the announcement during a meeting in Patna. The meeting was also attended by opposition leaders from the Congress.
“I have had a long association with the BJP. Today I am severing my ties with the BJP,” Sinha, who held finance and external affairs portfolios in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, made it clear that he would not join any other political party, and will now work for saving democracy in the country.
The BJP said it was not surprised by his decision. Sinha has been publicly opposing the Modi government’s economic policies and style of functioning. In a newspaper article, Sinha had criticized Arun Jaitley over the “mess the finance minister has made of the economy” after which Jaitley hit back calling him “a job applicant at 80 years.” He had also deprecated the Indian government’s handling of Kashmir.
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