‘Those who made fun of him as Pappu…’: TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha praises Rahul Gandhi
Praising Rahul Gandhi for his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha has said that the 3,570-km-long march will help the Congress double its tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sinha, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP who briefly joined the Congress in 2019 after differences with his former party, also said that Rahul Gandhi has proved his leadership abilities through the Bharat Jodo Yatra. In an interview with the news agency PTI on Sunday (October 30, 2022), Sinha said that the 150-day-long Bharat Jodo Yatra, which commenced on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, is getting a very good response and that Rahul Gandhi’s “charisma” has started working.
“This is a ‘yatra’ in a true sense as (Rahul) Gandhi is walking unlike ‘Rath yatras’ by BJP leaders. Lakhs of people are coming out in his support. He has proved his leadership qualities,” he said.
“People have accepted him as a leader. And, those who made fun of him as ‘Pappu’ and didn’t take him seriously have been proved wrong,” Shatrughan Sinha added.
“I feel that Gandhi’s yatra will help double the tally of the Congress in Parliament in the next Lok Sabha polls,” the Trinamool Congress leader said.
The Congress, notably, had won 52 seats in the 2019 general polls.
“BJP leaders are making fun of Gandhi, but let them also conduct a similar yatra on foot if they have the fire in their belly. The magic spell of Rahul Gandhi will work in the next elections, I feel and I want it to happen,” Sinha said.
