Jayant Sinha denies making 'unstable govt' prediction for LS polls

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha was in a spot of bother on Thursday after he was quoted by news agencies as saying the “most likely” outcome of the coming Lok Sabha polls was India not getting a strong and stable government.

Sinha was speaking at CNBC-TV18's India Business Leadership Awards in Mumbai. He was quoted by PTI as saying, “If indeed we end up in a situation where we don't have a strong, stable government, (which) I think that is in fact the most likely case, I think that will be something that will not be good for India going forward.”

Sinha claimed the country had changed under the Narendra Modi government and the “priority” was to inform the people about this change. Sinha declared, “For us the goal is to inform, to ensure that people understand all that we have done and all that is at risk consequently”.

Sinha's remarks triggered curiosity and discussion on social media. Not surprisingly, Sinha issued a clarification on Twitter late on Thursday evening, claiming he had been misquoted and the “elections have already been won under the inspiring leadership of PM Narendra Modi”.

Sinha tweeted, “Media is misquoting me from the #CNBCTV18IBLA Countdown To 2019 Lok Sabha Polls. My most likely scenario is that the 2019 elections have already been won under the inspiring leadership of the Hon. PM Shri Narendra Modi ji.”

Sinha is the son of former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who left the party last year and has since been an outspoken critic of Modi. Jayant Sinha was embroiled in a controversy last July after he was photographed garlanding eight men who had been convicted for lynching a Muslim cattle trader in Hazaribagh, which is Sinha's Lok Sabha constituency. Sinha, who had met the men after their sentences were suspended by the Ranchi High Court, initially attempted to defend himself, but later expressed regret for his action.

(With PTI inputs)