Yashwant Sinha was not ‘arth mantri’ but ‘anarth mantri’: MP

NEW DELHI: BJP’s Bhadohi MP and president of Kisan Morcha Virendra Singh ‘Mast’ on Thursday questioned party colleague Yashwant Sinha’s claims about the economy and reminded the latter of his own performance as finance minister and the way he was forced to quit.

Quoting labour union leader late Dattopant Thengadi’s views on Sinha, Singh said the BJP veteran was not “arth mantri” (finance minister) but “anarth mantri”. The farmers’ leader said Sinha should recall his past as an “opportunist” leader.

“Sinhaji bechain hai aur unki bechaini samjhi ja sakti hai (Sinha is desperate, which can be understood),” Singh told TOI, claiming that the former finance minister was upset at being sidelined.


“Thengadi used to call him ‘anarth mantri’ as Sinha had flopped miserably after which he was replaced with Jaswant Singh as finance minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government,” Singh claimed. “Unhe apne kaalkhand ko yaad rakhna chahiye (he should remember his past),” he added.

Singh said be it his association with Karpoori Thakur or former PM Chandra Shekhar, Sinha was known for having no ideology. He said people in BJP, who were aware of the party’s ideology, knew how it functioned. “Had there not been freedom in the party, Amit Shah could not have become president of BJP,” he said.

Singh said Sinha’s claim that BJP leaders were not speaking against the state of the economy out of fear was unfounded as MPs had often raised issues before the PM and Shah.