Suspended Congress leader Sanjay Jha on Tuesday took to Twitter seemingly applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to three cities to review the vaccine development and manufacturing process on Sunday. For the uninitiated, the Prime Minister had visited Ahmedabad's Zydus Biotech Park and then travelled to Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Pune's Serum Institute of India.
"PM Modi goes to Pune to see vaccine facilities: the Serum Institute of India is one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. This is what leaders should do. It reassures people that the PM is on the ball. Cynics will call it pure optics, but optics is part of leadership," Jha tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Over the last several months, the former Congress leader has repeatedly put forth a stance different from that the party. Jha was suspended days after he spoke out about stagnation and the need for reform within the ranks of the party in the wake of the Rajasthan crisis. Since then, he has established himself as a critic of many of the party's moves, even as he insists that he remains a "Congressi" at heart. He has lent his support to the farm bills, hailing them as a "much needed reform" even as he noted that the "government’s adamantine approach is wrong and immoral" to critics. And in the aftermath of the Bihar elections, as several Congress leaders laid the blame for their loss on rigged EVMs and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Jha had remarked that now, "even the Muslims are rejecting the Congress".
Needless to say, Jha's recent comments have not gone down well with many. While some took jibes at him wondering if he would soon be joining the BJP, others contrasted his recent reaction with prior comments made against Modi. "Who'd have thought that Sanjay Jha would ever praise PM Modi? See how liberating it is to not have to be a Negative Nancy all the time, @JhaSanjay?" asked one Twitter user.
