PATNA: BJP’s Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha, known for his open defiance against the party leadership, sort of escalated his ‘rebellion’ as he met RJD’s inacarcerated president Lalu Prasad’s family in Patna on Sunday, a day after visiting Lalu in Birsa jail in Ranchi on Saturday.

The cine-actor-turned-politician’s gesture followed a Ranchi CBI court’s decision to award 14 years’ imprisonment to Lalu in a fodder scam case involving fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury in the 1990s.

After meeting Lalu’s wife and former CM Rabri and son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shatrughan tweeted, “Dear Tejashwi, great evening, great reunion and especially immediately after meeting Laluji the previous afternoon in Jharkhand. Hope, wish and pray that the family gets the much- needed, desired and most deserved justice from the higher courts.”

Also popularly called Shotgun and Bihari Babu, the MP wrote another tweet, this time addressed to elder Yadav scion Tej Pratap, stating, “Dear Tej, great Ram Navami at your place with family friends (in Patna), where we had a cordial affectionate emotional reunion once again. Thank you all for the affection and warmth. Jai Bihar.”

In yet another tweet, Shotgun praised Lalu’s lawyers. “I congratulate eminent lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Ram Jethmalani and Gopal Subramanium for providing rock solid support to Laluji with expert guidance and legal backups. My salute to them for coming out so openly and boldly, that too at the time of real need.”

Tejashwi kind of reciprocated. “Indomitable, the original Bihari Babu and stalwart of cinema and politics Shatrughan Sinhaji came calling to show solidarity with us. He is appalled by the vendetta politics against feisty Lalu Prasadji! He always stands for genuine and honest friends,” Tejashwi tweeted.

Shotgun’s latest move has political cricles speculating about his future course of action. A prolific critic of PM Narendra Modi and his policies, including demonetization and GST, Shatrughan recently expressed displeasure over not being invited to the three-day ‘Bihar Diwas’ celebrations organised by the JD(U)-BJP government in Patna last week.

“Bihari Babu once again not invited to his home on Bihar Diwas for reasons best known to all of us,” Sinha remarked scarcastically in one of his tweets.

