He was again made Finance Minister in NDA government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee. Sinha, during his tenure, was forced to roll back some of his government’s major policy initiative for which he was much criticized. Still, Sinha is widely credited for pushing through several major reform measures that put the Indian economy on a firm growth trajectory. He was also External Affairs Minister for some period in Vajpayee regime.

Sinha has been BJP’s spokesman before the party’s leadership drafted him to contest Lok Sabha election from his home state — Bihar. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll. Sinha says his precept had been: “you should tell the truth or hang on by the verge of truth.” Among the spokesperson of political parties, Sinha was, doubtless, regarded as one of the best.

Unlike other BJP ministers, Sinha comes altogether from a different background. He neither belongs to RSS cadre nor has very long association with the BJP. He joined the party towards the fag end of 1993 and before taking the step he resigned his membership of Rajya Sabha. He was then a member of Chandra Shekhar’s party.

He is a late comer in politics having given up his 24-year-long career in IAS. He joined the Janata party as late as 1988 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha. When the Janata party merged with the Janata Dal, he became JD’s general secretary. Came 1989 elections and V P Singh became Prime Minister and he offered Sinha to join the government as Minister of State. Sinha declined but when JD split after two years and Chandra Shekhar became prime minister with outside support of the Congress, Sinha became the Finance Minister. His term barely lasted for seven months.

Jayaprakash Narayan has left an abiding impact on Sinha, when he was Finance Minister. In fact, Sinha wanted to bid goodbye to IAS much earlier but JP dissuaded him from taking such course of action. Sinha first came in contact with JP when he was working as district magistrate in Santhal Pargana in Bihar. He was transferred following a tiff with then Chief Minister, Mahamaya Prasad Sinha. Sinha decided to meet JP and it was after that Sarvodaya leader issued a statement that ministers should stop misbehaving with officers.

When JP went around the world after Bangladesh war explaining India’s case as emissary of Indira Gandhi. Sinha was then posted at Bonn. He looked after JP’s itinerary and accompanied him during his visit to Germany. JP was impressed by the young officer’s drive and the relationship continued as long as JP was alive.

As India’s Consul General in Bonn, Sinha handled, among other things, India’s relations with European Economic Community. In his long career in IAS, he acquired wide experience in the sphere of finance and Industry. Initially, he had a stint in Bihar Government’s finance department and then moved on to Delhi to work with the ministry of Commerce, Industry and Surface and Transport Ministry. (IPA Service)