NCP, RJD back Shotgun to target BJP

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Wednesday backed the assertions of rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha and said the ruling party at the Centre is not serious about doing anything substantial to identify things responsible for the humiliating defeat in Bihar.

"The statement of Shatrughan Sinha to the effect that BJP should assess and find the causes for the humiliating defeat in Bihar is not wrong as per me. It is only because it is coming from the mouth of Shatrughan Sinha that it has to be looked in suspicion," NCP leader Majid Memon told ANI.

"If any other BJP leader would have said so, it would have been taken in a positive manner and in the interest of the party. But because it is coming from him, they would attribute malice to it which is not correct," he added.

He insisted that though it is an internal matter of the party, the humiliating defeat calls for an introspection so as to take corrective measures.

RJD leader Manoj Jha also supported Sinha's statement and said the BJP is not serious about doing anything substantial as far as identifying the reasons for the dismal show in Bihar.

"I feel that the BJP is not serious about doing anything substantial as far as identifying things for the defeat is concerned. Now, this BJP seems to be very different from the one we have been fighting against since decades. This is Amit Shah and Narendra Modi's BJP which is highly person oriented, person centered and both of them are together on this," Jha told ANI

"The logical corollary is that if you have lost why not the same person who was the poster boy should be held responsible. It is their internal matter. But any healthy political discourse would have looked it this way," he added.

Extending his full support to the dissent by the party veterans, the actor-politician had earlier demanded an explanation from those 'responsible' for the Bihar debacle and said they were answerable to the 'real stalwarts' of BJP.

"Those responsible for the debacle must answer what, why, where & how it all happened. They must satisfy the real stalwarts/veterans of BJP. It's just bravado of the ill advised to talk of action. The time is for reaction, understanding, apology and satisfaction of party godfathers," Sinha tweeted.

"Some vested interests are still at it...refusing to learn any lessons, still working on creating misunderstandings through misinformation," he added.

Sinha has been openly sulking about him not being a part of the BJP campaign in Bihar and has taken potshots at the party leadership, saying 'Bihari Babu' (referring to himself), whom the people of Patna sent to the Parliament had deliberately been kept out of the campaign.

Sinha has also been publicly praising Nitish Kumar for the grand alliance's splendid win in Bihar, bringing further embarrassment to the BJP.