Yashwant Sinha takes another dig at Modi – by lauding Chandra Shekhar's Pakistan strategy

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha never loses an opportunity to take a swipe at the Modi government.

Since being marginalised by his party after the 2014 elections, Sinha has publicly questioned the government’s foreign and economic policies. After the BJP’s disastrous performance in last Bhihar assembly elections, Sinha had joined his other senior colleagues in issuing a statement describing the result as “disastrous” and sought accountability for it.

Sinha could not stop himself from taking potshots at the government on Tuesday while participating in a discussion on Sanjay Baru’s new book, 1991: How PV Narasimha Rao Made History. But unlike the past when Sinha has been more forthcoming in his criticism, the former minister did not hit out at the government directly. Still, the references to it were unmistakable.

While dwelling on his tenure as finance minister in 1991 when a severe economic crisis forced India to mortgage its gold, Sinha was all praise for former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s leadership and how he managed to make a mark during his short stint in office. He repeatedly stated that even though Chandra Shekhar government had only 64 MPs in the Lok Sabha and was looked upon as a joke, his government carried a lot of conviction.

Direct dial

Then, instead speaking about the government’s handling of the economy, Sinha went on to narrate how Chandra Shekhar dealt with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The two leaders, he said, had met briefly at a SAARC meeting in Maldives in November 1990. Yet, he recalled, when three Swedish tourists were abducted in Kashmir, Chandra Shekhar lost no time in picking up the phone and telling Sharif, “ What is going on?” The tourists were released a few days later.

Similarly, Sinha said, when the daughter of a senior Kashmiri minister (not Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) was abducted, Chandra Shekhar had once again dialed Sharif and the girl was released. This, he said, goes to show that the Chandra Shekhar government carried a lot of conviction, a point he made several times during his presentation.

Though Sinha made no direct references to the Modi government’s handling of the attacks on Army camps in Pathankot and Uri, the timing of his remarks is significant as the ruling alliance is currently looking at options to isolate Pakistan. The subtext of Sinha’s remarks was clear: a prime minister with 64 MPs did not hesitate to talk to the Pakistan leadership but a prime minister with 282 MPs seems unable to do so. In other words, Modi's government lacks the conviction enjoyed by the minority government headed by Chandra Shekhar.

Despite his seeming coyness on Tuesday, Sinha hasn't steered away from publicly criticised the Modi government’s Pakistan’s policy. Writing in the Indian Express after the Uri terror attacks, he made a strong case for direct military action against Pakistan. When eight CRPF personnel were killed in Pampore in June, Sinha even went so far as to say that “nothing has come out, or will, of the Centre’s Pakistan policy”.

“I have stressed that if I have even some experience of issues involving Pakistan and about foreign policy, then nothing will come out of this policy," he had said. "In two years, nothing has come out till now.”

'Brain dead'

Having been passed over for younger leaders by the Modi-Amit Shah duo, an angry Sinha constantly describes himself sarcastically as “brain dead.” He has been quoted as saying, “After 75 years, a person is considered brain dead. I am trying to prove otherwise but in reality I am brain dead."

Besides targeting the Modi government’s Pakistan policy, Sinha was equally critical when India failed to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in June even though the Indian establishment, including the prime minister, made a strong push for it. Hitting out at the government, he had said, India should not have sought membership of the group. “India which has shown so much keenness in getting NSG membership, it is not required at all," he had remarked. "I say this very strongly that India should not accept the NSG membership. We should not go there as an applicant. Whatever we had to get, we have got it.”

The Modi government’s handling of the economy has not escaped the former minister’s attention either. When the US State Department said that India’s growth figures may have been overstated, Sinha was among those who sought a clarification from the government , stating that the 7.6% growth rate may be inflated because of a discrepancy.