In The Interest Of Nation, Speak Up Against Your Bosses, Yashwant Sinha Urges BJP Lawmakers

In his latest attack on the Prime Minister, senior BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha wrote a scathing piece urging party lawmakers to 'speak up against the bosses “who have no time for you” 

In an editorial published in The Indian Express, Sinha came out all guns blazing at the current government, and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose “communication is always one- way”. 

The 84-year-old  former Finance Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s cabinet during the first NDA government lay into the current one, saying the ruling party has "lost our way and the confidence of the voters," almost four years into governance, and appealed party supremo L.K Advani and Manohar Lal Joshi to "take a stand in the national interest and ensure that the values they have made such unparalleled sacrifices to uphold are protected and preserved for future generations and corrective steps are taken in time."

In his piece, Sinha countered the government's repeated claims that we are the "world's fastest growing economy."'

"A fast growing economy does not accumulate the kind of non-performing assets in its banks, as we have done over the last four years. In a fast growing economy the farmers are not in distress, the youth are not without jobs, small businesses do not stand destroyed and savings and investment do not fall as drastically as they have done over the last four years. What is worse, corruption has raised its ugly head again and banking scams are tumbling out of the closet one after another. The scamsters also manage to run away from the country somehow, as the government watches helplessly," he said.

The dues by scam-hit PNB's big wilful defaulters grew to Rs 14,904.65 crore in February, up 2.1 per cent from the previous month, according to the bank data. 

Hit by the Rs 13,000 crore fraud, PNB has been trying to clean up its books. Multiple agencies are working on bringing back the alleged wrongdoers billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Gems, who had fled the country.

Sinha, who had earlier attacked the Finance minister Arun Jaitley, said the BJP has lost the 'confidence of the voters', and poses a threat also to the 'internal democracy' despite the fact that the party workers "worked very hard for the victory of the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections."

Read Also: Modi Claims He's Seen Poverty, Jaitley Working Overtime To Ensure All Indians Experience It, Says BJP's Yashwant Sinha

He took a jibe at Modi's foreign policy, saying it "consists of frequent foreign visits by the prime minister and his hugging foreign dignitaries, whether they like it or not."

"It is completely devoid of substance and has failed miserably even in our immediate neighbourhood, where China is trampling all over our interests. The smartly executed surgical strike by our brave jawans against Pakistan has been wasted and Pakistan continues to export terror to India unabated as we watch helplessly. Jammu and Kashmir continues to burn, Left wing extremism refuses to be tamed, and the common man is suffering as never before."

In the light of recent incidents of rape in Kathua and Unnao that have shook the nation, Sinha said women are unsafe 'as never before' under the rule of the present government, adding that instead of prosecuting the perpetrators, we "have become their apologists."

“In many cases, our own people are involved in these heinous crimes.” 

The former Finance Minister did not just stop there.  According to Sinha, democracy under the ruling government is under threat. He cites the unprecedented press conference by four senior-most Supreme Court judges on February 12 this year.

 "It (Press Conference) brought out clearly the rot that has been allowed to afflict the highest judicial institution of our country. The judges have repeatedly pointed out that democracy in our country is under threat."

Sinha also slammed the government for the disruptions in parliament during the budget session that lead to its washout. 

On the threat on internal democracy, he urged the party members to "express your opinion frankly before the bosses on all issues confronting us. " 

"It is your right to demand accountability from those who are in government today and are letting down the country. The interest of the country supersedes that of the party, just as the interest of the party supersedes the interest of an individual."

Miffed with the party, Sinha has before too openly attacked the government and its policies.