BJP Leader Shatrughan Stirs Speculation by Calling Sonia ‘A One-Man Army’

NEW DELHI, 18 November 2005 — Bollywood star-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha has raised speculations whether the actor is hoping to make a shift from Bharatiya Janata Party to Congress following honeyed praise of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Shatrughan, nicknamed Shotgun, stirred the political pot by elevating the Congress leader to the stature of a “one-man army.”

The Bihari Babu said in a television interview: “If I praise Madam Gandhi, it is because she is a lady, a lady of substance.”

He added: “Moreover, she comes from a tremendous background, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, Madam Indira Gandhi. She (Sonia) is a great fighter, a great survivor. I call her one man army of the Congress, not one woman, but one man army of the Congress.”

Shotgun, however, quickly added: “This does not mean that that I am joining some party. I am praising Sonia because she is a lady — whatever talks you want to have politically you can have with her.”

When asked why he was speaking like a Congress member, Shatrughan said: “If I sound like a Congressman, let me tell you that I hold Sharad Pawar in very high esteem. To me, Kanshiram is like Chanakya ... Look at the progress of Bahujan Samaj Party ... In a couple of years from two seats they have come almost to the national scene ... I also like Mayawati.”

While heaping praise on these leaders the Bihari Babu, of late, has been attacking BJP for “criminalization” of politics.

Lashing out at BJP for having fielded a number of “criminals” in Bihar Assembly polls, he said earlier this week: “It’s alright with me if the party kicks me out tomorrow but I am simply not going to compromise on my principles.”

Evading a direct response to whether any political invitation had been extended to him from other parties, Shatrughan said that this question would hold relevance only after BJP shuts its door on him. “Unless one door is closed, one cannot talk about another door,” he said. He specifically stated that he does not have any problem with any political party as he is not part of any election campaign.