Shatrughan Sinha Evokes Jinnah As Part Of Congress, Then Retracts

Sinha had already started facing massive backlash for his comment, even before he could make a clarification.

Actor Shatrughan Sinha. 

(File Photo: IANS)

Actor Shatrughan Sinha who recently shifted from the BJP to the Congress has once again ruffled feathers after he evoked the name of Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a part of the Congress family.

Sinha made the statement while campaigning for Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Chhindwara parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, 26 April.

“The Congress family, from Mahatma Gandhi to Sardar Patel to Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It is their party. They had the most important role in development and freedom of the country. This is the reason why I have come here (in Congress),” Sinha said at a rally.

Later while clarifying the statement on Saturday, he said:

“Whatever I said yesterday was a slip of tongue. I wanted to say Maulana Azad but uttered Muhammad Ali Jinnah.”

However, this clarification came too late as Sinha had already started facing backlash for his comment.

“Shatrughan Sinha, whatever his views are, he must explain. But a few days ago, he was part of BJP. So let the BJP explain why he was a part of the BJP for so many years. I don't have to explain the statement of every member(Congress). I can only speak for the party's official position,” said Congress leader P Chidambaram, as quoted by NDTV.

Twitter, especially right-wing accounts, also condemned Sinha’s statement.

Recently, Sinha had also courted controversy after he campaigned for his wife who is contesting from Lucknow on a Samajwadi Party ticket. The Congress has been at odds with the SP after it was not included in the mahagathbandhan.

Shatrughan Sinha is contesting for Parliament from the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar – a seat he has held for two terms on a BJP ticket. This time he is contesting against the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad on a Congress ticket.