Denied meet with Modi, Yashwant Sinha says will now express views in public

Jabalpur: Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday said that since he could not get an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he has now decided that he will not meet anyone in the government and instead express his views in the public.

Referring to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP veteran LK Advani, Sinha said "today's BJP is not like the one in the days of Atalji and Advaniji."

He said that in those days, even a "small-time worker could go to Delhi and meet party president Advani without appointment, who has targeted the government on many occasions recently".

"Now even senior and important leaders don't get appointment with the party president. So, I was not surprised when I did not get appointment for 13 months," he told reporters in Jabalpur.

"I sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi 13 months ago to discuss various issues, but I haven't got it so far. Since I haven't got time, I have decided now I will not meet anyone in the government. Whatever I have to say, I will say openly in public," Sinha said.

Referring to a photograph of BJP president Amit Shah offering a laddoo to the prime minister, Sinha said, "In that photo, Rajnath Singh, Ananth Kumar, Sushma Swaraj and others are visible. But Advani is not seen even at the back. Now he has become an 'aam' (ordinary) worker from 'khaas' (important one)."

The former finance minister is slated to take part in a farmers' agitation at Gadarwara in Narsinghpur district on Friday.

He alleged that after coming to power, the BJP accepted all policies which it had opposed while being in the opposition.

"I have decided that now I will not talk with the government. Farmers are being neglected in the country. Their condition is not good in Madhya Pradesh too," he said.

Referring to awards that the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has received for its performance in agriculture, he said, "They are given on the basis of mere figures. I have played with them a lot in my life."

Sinha termed the Madhya Pradesh government's 'Bhavantar' scheme, under which farmers are paid the difference between the minimum support price and the low market price, and crop insurance scheme as an "empty gimmick".