'Shotgun' fires fresh salvo at Modi

Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, charging him with "wasting" money on hiring a "choreographed crowd" that chanted his name "before, during and after" speeches which lacked "content and depth".

In a series of stinging tweets, Sinha, who is all set to quit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and seek re-election from Patna Sahib on a Congress ticket, also accused Modi of "arrogance" and "EVM misuse" and advised him to "go for a real press conference" and take questions from journalists "who cannot be bought and can question you in the larger interest of the nation".

"Honourable outgoing Sirji. Why are you wasting so much money on different channels and on the paid and choreographed crowd who chant your name at any given time - during, before and after your speeches on the signal of the conductors. Your speeches lack content and depth these days and have gone to the extent of becoming highly repetitive and irritating," Sinha tweeted.

"Sirji, I still remain your well-wisher despite your EVM misuse and in spite of all your arrogance. My humble suggestion for you at this eleventh hour would be to become straight and go straight. Don't hire or go for paid channels. Instead go for a real and genuine Press Conference with peoplewho cannot be bought, who can question you in the larger interest of the nation," he said in another tweet.

"Go for the press who are not sycophants and cannot be silenced by money and muscle power -- instead of going for a conducted tour, well-rehearsed, well-practised, choreographed slogan chanting and with people of press of the choice of the one man show and two man army," Sinha said in yet another tweet.

"Your addresses right from London were conducted and choreographed, where you abused doctors and had your own conducted questions put by your own paid anchor, well known till recently," he said in his final tweet of the day, referring to a question-answer session at Westminster compered by Bollywood lyricist Prasoon Joshi -- said to be a BJP supporter -- wherein Modi's comment about Indian doctors visiting abroad on tours sponsored by pharma companies had evoked strong condemnation from the medical fraternity back home.