If speaking the truth makes me a rebel, I am a rebel: Shatrughan Sinha

Veteran actor-turned- politician Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attempted to silence him and also termed him an "anti-national" when he raised questions on the party's demonetisation move.

"They tried to silence me after I questioned demonetisation and also tried to label me as a leader who was anti-party. I hit back saying their move was against the best interest of the country and necessitated criticism. If speaking the truth made me a rebel, then yes, I was a rebel," Sinha said.

Sinha was speaking in Gaya at his first public rally after joining the Congress on Saturday.

The actor-politician was joined by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the rally.

Sinha said that he could not term the BJP guilty of a scam in the Rafale deal but also could not give them a clean chit till all the questions regarding the deal were answered by the party.

"On the Rafale deal I will not accuse them of a scam, but I also cannot say that they are guilty until they answer certain questions," he said.

Sinha threw a flurry of questions about the Rafale deal:" Why did a specific person get the contract despite HAL being in the race? Why was the defence minister not kept on the board which finalised the deal? Who profited from the deal? why were honest bureaucrats kept away from the deal?

Sinha said till the time answers to these questions were not provided by the BJP, the people of the country will continue their "Chowkidar Chor Hai" refrain.

Continuing his tirade against the BJP he said it had failed to deliver on its promise of generating two crore jobs and depositing 15 lakhs into accounts and in desperation were targetting the NYAY minimum income gaurantee scheme proposed by Rahul Gandhi guaranteeing Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20 per cent in the country.

Bihar will see polling in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections beginning April 11 and ending on May 19. The results will be declared on May 23.