L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi are extremely capable of being in any post, says Shatrughan Sinha

New Delhi: Bhartiya Janata Party’s MP Shatrughan Sinha on Friday sounded a discordant note over the exclusion of party veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from the Narendra Modi government, saying both are "extremely capable of being in any post".

The Bihar MP, who was a Cabinet minister in the previous NDA government but has not been included in the ministry this time, also expressed his disapproval over the reported age cut-off limit of 75 years for a ministerial berth and said experience and ability can go together.

"I don't agree with this age of 75 being a cut-off. Experience and ability can go together. There are senior leaders in the party who are sharper than the ones who are aged 45. Due to some reasons, they have not got the post which they deserved," he told CNN-IBN.

"Both L K Advani and M M Joshi are very intelligent and extremely capable of being in any post. Whether or not Advani should be the Speaker should depend on his choice. Not just the Speaker's position, he is eligible for all posts in the Cabinet," he added.

The Bollywood actor, who is known to speak his mind, however, stopped short of questioning Modi's decision and said it is the PM's prerogative to decide who is given which post. "As a worker and member of the party, I will not question the collective wisdom made by the Parliamentary Board of the party on allocation of posts," he said.

He suggested that Rajya Sabha MPs have been preferred over Lok Sabha MPs in the government formation.

"This is true that some people who had won with record margins are not there in this Cabinet and some of those who are from Rajya Sabha and have not faced the public have come forward in their place. But I have no grudges," the Patna Sahib MP said.

He hoped that he may be made a minister later if Modi feels he is capable. "I don't want to challenge Modi's wisdom," he added.