JOIN USTwo days after former NDA minister Arun Shourie’s sharp attack on the Modi government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley describes it as “individual reaction” made for “purely personalised reason”.
At a book launch function, the editor-turned politician Shourie had come up with a very harsh assessment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his government’s functioning and policies. He said that lack of direction was making people miss former PM Manmohan Singh, dubbed present PMO as the “weakest” and argued that the belief in the dispensation is that “managing the economy means managing the headlines”.
He summed up his scepticism on expectation from the Centre by describing the NDA as “Congress with a cow”.
Jaitley, who was not spared either, did not treat Shourie’s acerbic remark as that of a “critic” but voice of a prejudiced man. “I don’t think critics really say that, these are individual reactions for purely personalised reasons,” Jaitley commented.
He told a news channel that Shourie was never connected with the BJP for the last few years and that some party workers believe that he is not attached with the organisation.
A day before, BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh was more direct in giving his reaction. Shourie’s comment was “borne out of frustration of not being in government”, Singh had bluntly countered.
At the same time, the BJP had tried to play down Shourie’s uncharitable remark in the middle of crucial Bihar assembly elections by stating that the admirer-turned-basher of Modi was no longer a member of the party and that his “baseless” views are not shared by the country.
Union ministers for urban development and parliamentary affairs M Venkaiah Naidu argued "Shourie-ji's views are not of the people or the party".
Shourie’s approbation for Modi had withered away before the NDA government completed its first anniversary in May. He had directly targeted Modi, Jaitley and BJP chief Amit Shah, holding them “responsible for mistakes” committed by the ruling regime.