Freedom of speech curbed amidst 'strange' BJP atmosphere: Rajeev Shukla

Congress leader Rajeev Shukla has asked people of the country to be wary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by suggesting that the opposition party's recent behavior is a threat to the fundamental right to freedom of speech.

He was responding to BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha's endorsement of Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as "prime ministerial material".

"It's a strange atmosphere within the BJP, in which if anyone says anything against Modiji, or in praise of anyone else, then all hell breaks loose. There is no freedom of speech. The other day even when Amar Singh said something, all hell broke loose. If this is the attitude at present, then I don't know what will happen when something happens. People should be very cautious of these kind of people," Shukla said.

Last week, Sinha had stirred up a controversy within the BJP after he said, "Nitish Kumar is certainly PM material." Sinha also described Kumar as a mature politician and a good man.

The praise didn't go down well with fellow leaders of the party, as the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the BJP parted ways last month after a 17-year-long partnership.

"It is for the central leadership to take action against Sinha who continues to embarrass the party with his utterances. We will also speak to the party leadership in New Delhi," BJP vice-president C.P. Thakur said yesterday.

"It is not for the first time the MP has gone overboard in breaching the party discipline. If he thinks of quitting, the party will not come in his way," Thakur added.

BJP vice-president, Uma Bharti, also criticized Sinha's for his pro-Nitish Kumar comments saying, "The biggest punishment for people like Digvijay Singh and Shatrughan Sinha is to ignore their comments, to not give them any importance. If they are ignored, they shut up on their own," Bharti said here yesterday.