Dona Paula: BJP member of parliament Shatrughan Sinha today questioned the demand to remove portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from Aligarh Muslim University.
The actor-politician was in Goa as a guest lecturer for the series on the topic “Indian Economy and Challenges before democracy” organised by Citizens for Democracy, a local group of intellectuals.
Without naming the AMU controversy directly, Sinha said “suddenly the demands have started coming to change the names of universities or remove the pictures of some people.” “Why should they be removed? All these years they are there and everything was going on well,” he questioned.
Sinha said that the BJP should introspect and see why the incidents like lynching of people in the name of protection of Cow are happening in the country.
“I am not in a position to comment whether whatever that is happening in judiciary is right or wrong, but the question is why this is happening,” he said adding that he was giving “food for thought” for the people and even his own partymen who should give the feedback to their leaders.
The Patna Saheb lawmaker said that he was trying to show “mirror” to his own party by speaking in favour of the truth.
“ Many people ask me why do I speak against BJP, when I am member of parliament representing the party and has been associated with it since the time it was just two member party in the parliament,” he said.
“They ask me why do I rebel against the party? Why don’t I quit the party? I make them understand that I am not rebelling against the party. I always speak in the national interest and I always try that through my true opinion, I show mirror to my party,” he added.
Sinha said that the BJP is a party which believes that the individual is greater than the party and the party is greater than the nation.
“When I speak in favour of the nation, it is natural that I am talking for the welfare of the party and also for the common people. Party cannot be bigger than the nation,” he added.
