Yashwant Sinha, who had criticised PM Narendra Modi in the past, was denied a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections. Yashwant Sinha, who had criticised PM Narendra Modi in the past, was denied a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections.

Senior BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha Wednesday took a dig at the BJP leadership, saying the present regime had declared BJP leaders above 75 as “brain dead” soon after assuming office last year.

“All those who are above the age of 75 were declared brain dead on May 26, 2014,” said Sinha (82), who has taken on the current BJP leadership on several occasions. “I have been brain dead for the last one year,” he said at an industry meet while replying to a question.

Sinha’s comments come at a time when several senior BJP stalwarts, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sinha himself, have been sidelined, having not been given any major assignment in the government or the party.

In another potshot at the government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ campaign, Sinha said, “Unless you Make India, Make in India cannot happen.” Our energy should be first focused on making the country a better place and all the other things will fall in place, he said.

“As the finance minister I was laughed at when we went ahead to build national highways and roads. We did not have the equipment and I helped to reduce the import duties on the equipment required to build these highways and roads. Once I reduced the duties, we are today making these machineries. I strongly believe unless we Make India, Make in India cannot happen.”

Sinha, who had criticised PM Narendra Modi in the past, was denied a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections. However, his son Jayant Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha and later became the Minister of State for Finance.

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