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Arun Shourie tears into Narendra Modi; also targets Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah

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By The Times of India

Former Union minister Arun Shourie tore down the Narendra Modi government on Friday, calling its economic policies directionless while accusing the "trimurti" of Modi, finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP chief Amit Shah of monopolizing decision-making.

Even as he praised Modi for achievements on the foreign policy front, the member of the Vajpayee cabinet said the economy was being run on the basis of intuition and revelations, and showed lack of the big picture. He said decisions were centralized in the PMO which typically lacked "expertise and talent quotient" and expressed worry over what he saw as choking of institutions such as Central Information Commission and Central Vigilance Commission.

   He said the silence of Modi, who was otherwise active in "tweeting business" on issues such as "love jihad" and "ghar wapsi", was sending a wrong message and could disrupt harmony and national security.

   Shourie also faulted the Modi dispensation for political management, saying its aggressive plans for expansion and tone was alienating allies, while those within were terrified of speaking their mind.

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Shourie's remarks in an interview marked the first attack from somebody who is perceived to be an insider and came amid the build-up to the first anniversary celebrations of the Modi government.

Shourie, who was widely speculated to be on Modi's shortlist for the finance ministry, scorned the finance minister in particular. He said the investment climate had not improved, and the concern of foreign investors about stability and clarity in taxation policy remained unaddressed.

"Government is more concerned about managing headlines than putting policies in place. The situation is like the many unconnected different pieces of a jigsaw puzzle lying in a mess with no big picture in mind about how to put them together," he said.

Shourie said the finance ministry's approach towards FIIs was like that of a bully who retreated and offered a whole lot of concessions after making tax demands. "The bravado lasted two days," he said while reviewing the Modi government's first year in a TV interview.

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He was also critical of Jaitley for being lawyerly in his approach towards criticism by noted banker Deepak Parekh. "The government cannot dismiss people like Parekh," he said.

Although Shourie said "he still liked Modi and believed him to be the man who could lead", the former journalist was similarly scathing on the PM too. He suggested that Modi was still in the mode of a chief minister who would focus on large projects and had so far failed to focus on "policies" and "big picture".

Even on foreign policy where he praised Modi for recognizing the challenge of China, Shourie, who started off as a critic of Modi but turned into a supporter, said the policy towards the US was a continuation of improvement of ties under successive governments since the Vajpayee regime and criticized the lack of clarity and contradictory messages to Pakistan. In fact, he said that Modi, like other PMs in the first year of their tenure, had shown the fascination for "out-of-box" methods at the cost of traditional diplomacy.

Modi was also targeted for the domination of the "trimurti", saying people within the party were afraid to tell them the truth and hence the troika was not getting feedback about the reality. He said mistakes were not being investigated, giving the example of Delhi polls.

He was critical of the government's decision to "force" the land bill when the issue, being on the concurrent list, should have been left to states. Shourie also said the ordinance was unnecessary.