Naseeruddin: Rahul no longer butt of jokes

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Actor Naseeruddin Shah heaped praise on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, adding that the ruling BJP could no longer poke fun at him.

He made the comments in an interview to the news website The Wire. “The biggest take away, I would think, is the arrival of Rahul Gandhi as a competent, hardworking, astute politician, rather than being an object of mirth in the Opposition,” Shah said.

The actor added that Prime Minister Modi could no longer treat Gandhi as the butt of jokes. He was referring to the revival of Congress in the seat sharing arrangement with its Indian National Developmental Alliance (INDIA) allies.

The Grand Old Party bagged 99 seats and could have just as easily breached the 100 mark if not for several losses by small margins.

The BJP finished as the single largest party with 240 seats but couldn’t cross the 272 mark, which is needed for a simple majority in the Lok Sabha. The saffron party crossed the mark with the help of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.