Advani deserved Bharat Ratna this year, Sinha tells PM Modi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shatrugan Sinha has invoked Lal Krishna Advani—who was once considered as "Hindu Hridaya Samrat" (emperor of Hindu hearts)—to rile Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sinha took to Twitter to comment on PM Modi’s first Mann ki Baat address of 2018 in which Modi credited his government for ensuring the prestigious Padma Awards went to common people who "may not be seen in big cities but have done transformative work for society."

“Sir. You said that the Padma Awards are now given on merit. Is it like the cabinet positions? Where meritorious worthies like LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, Murli Manohar Joshi, yours truly & many others are left out in the cold. Any remedies?” he wrote in a series of scathing tweets.

Taking a jibe at PM’s Mann ki Baat, Sinha said in another tweet: “I dare not speak my Mann Ki Baat. That brand name belongs exclusively to one person. So I can only indulge in Dil Ki Baat Sir & my heart says - LK Advani couldn't be made PM, for reasons most of us know. He couldn't be made Home Minister, for reasons a few of us know.”

But Sinha didn’t stop there. In another post he hinted that the eighty-nine-year old Advani, who took BJP from a two-MP party to forming the first NDA government, needs to be duly compensated. “He could not be made President - for reasons that you and I know very well. But Sir, surely he could have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna in this year’s Padma Awards. I do hope that my Dil ki Baat hasnt hurt anybody like Mann Ki Baat sometimes does.”

Later, Sinha also reacted to PM Modi’s statement that corrupt Chief Minister’s were rotting in jail under his rule while addressing a National Cadets Corps rally in New Delhi on Sunday: “My heart goes out to Lalu Yadav & his family. I say this strictly in my personal capacity as a family friend, not in a political capacity. I have love and sympathy for you. Please count on me personally for anything. Once a friend, always a friend! May God give you strength!”