Arun Shourie’s scathing attack on Modi govt leaves BJP disappointed

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 2, 2015: The Modi-led BJP government is in a spot after the blistering attack by one of its former minister Arun Shourie.

Slamming Shourie about his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that it was only natural that senior leaders would run the party, PM being the first among equals.Read: Shourie slams Narendra Modi: 10 things he said

She said, "He has been a bit ’unkind’ to Modi, disappointing that conclusions are being drawn in such a short span but the BJP was open to suggestions by Shourie."
 
Lauding Shourie’s writting skills, Sitharaman said, "Every book he has written is based on well research, even the footnotes. So, he saying such false things is really sad."

"Shourie has not taken a holistic approach," she added. Full text of Arun Shourie’s interview

Arun Shourie, one of the most influential BJP ideologues during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, on Friday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of poor handling of the Indian economy and turning a blind eye to the attacks on minorities and their institutions by the right-wing groups.

In an exclusive interview with Headlines Today’s Karan Thapar on the first anniversary of the Modi government, Shourie said the ’trimurti’ (trinity) of Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was running the party. "It has offended the opposition as well as frightened the members of the BJP," he said.

Shourie headed the Ministry of Disinvestment, Communication and Information Technology during the first NDA government and is considered one of the most prominent voices on India’s economy. He, like most top BJP leaders from the Vajpayee era, failed to find any accommodation in the new regime.

Asked if the Modi government had done enough to put India on the path of 8 per cent growth which may soon rise to 10 per cent, Shourie said that it was "all hyperbole". "Such claims are meant to grab headlines but lack substance," he said.

Shourie also invoked the controversial monogrammed pin-striped suit that Modi wore during his interaction with US President Barack Obama earlier this year. "It was inexplicable, incomprehensible and a big critical mistake," Shourie said. "I fail to understand why he accepted and then wore that suit. You cannot take Gandhiji’s name and wear such a thing," he said.

 

Courtesy: Indiatoday