Shatrughan Sinha not invited by alma mater Patna University for centenary celebration

Patna, Oct 12 : Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha has expressed his pain at not being invited by his alma mater Patna University to its centenary celebration function on October 14 at which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be chief guest.

"Patna University is my alma mater but I was not invited to participate in its centenary celebration. I am yet to receive an invitation. It is really unfortunate," Sinha told media here.

Sinha, popularly known as Bihari Babu, is a BJP MP from Patna Saheb and former student of Patna University. "There should not be any politics during such a historical celebration of an educational institution like Patna University," he said.

Sinha said Patna University is part of his parliamentary constituency too. He said he was a student of the then prestigious Patna Sience College of Patna University. "It is wrong not to invite me due to differences of opinion with the Prime Minister."

He also demanded that Patna University should invite senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to the centenary celebration.

Shatrughan Sinha said Yashwant Sinha and RJD chief Lalu Prasad are both students of Patna University, and are yet to get invitations.

Shatrughan Sinha in series of tweets on Thursday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Patna on Saturday but called the centenary celebrations at Patna University as "tame". He exhorted the Prime Minister to offer a plan for "restoration of the lost glory of Patna University which, he said, was once hailed as "the Oxford of the East".

Sinha in the last two years had questioned and criticised Modi on several occasions and also expressed his differences with him on issues.

Yashwant Sinha was in the news last week for raising the issue of economic slowdown in the country and had blamed the central government for it.

Lalu Prasad, who completed his graduation in political science and LLB from Patna University, is a known critic and a political opponent of Modi. Lalu Prasad was president of the students union of Patna University and played an important role in the student movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan, known as JP in the mid 70s against then powerful Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.