Patna: Facing flak from the BJP for having recounted Mohd Ali Jinnah among the stalwarts of the Congress party at an election rally, Patna Sahib candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday asserted that he saw nothing to be apologetic about the slip of tongue. Sinha said he wished to speak about Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, but due to slip of tongue ended up saying Mohd Ali Jinnah.

The actor-politician had made the faux pas at a rally at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh the previous night while he was rattling off the names of towering personalities associated with the Grand Old Party. As news channels beamed the relevant excerpt, BJP with which the actor-turned-politician had severed his three decades long ties recently mocked the former Union minister for speaking of the founder of Pakistan in the same breath as Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Shatrughan Sinha has just gone to the Congress. When he was in BJP he used to talk about nationalism. Now, he says that Jinnah was also a great leader like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Congress leaders are praising Jinnah, who has divided the country, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted. Talking to PTI, Sinha said it was an ex tempore speech, highly appreciated and applauded.