Yashwant Sinha quits BJP saying India’s democracy in danger

Mumbai (Reuters): One of India’s best known politicians, former finance and foreign minister Yashwant Sinha, quit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (21 April), saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party was undermining democratic institutions.

Sinha, who served as a minister in the first BJP-led governments headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has frequently spoken out over how the Hindu nationalist party has evolved since then.

“Democracy in India is in grave danger,” Sinha said, announcing his decision to quit at a meeting of a new political action group attended by several opposition politicians in Patna, the capital of Bihar.

“From today, my relationship with BJP is over. I’m severing my ties with the party,” Sinha said. “I’m not going to be a member of any other political party,” he said, adding, “My friends and I will lead a movement to save democracy in India.”