Asked if the Modi government had done enough to put India on growth path, Mr. Shourie said that it was “all hyperbole.”
Arun Shourie, a Minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet, hit out at the Narendra Modi government on Friday, saying its economic policy was “directionless” while the social climate was causing “great anxiety” among the minorities.
Mr. Shourie said the one-year rule of Modi was “good in parts”, his transformation as Prime Minister was good in foreign policy, but the promised turnaround in the economy had not happened.
“The government seems to be more concerned with managing headlines than putting policies in place. The situation is like the many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle lying in a mess with no big picture in mind about how to put them together,” he told a private news channel. Mr. Shourie, who is not active in BJP these days, said despite promises, the fears of foreign investors on retrospective taxes and incentives for manufacturing have not materialised on the ground. “They (investors) require stability and predictability,” he said, adding that the concern expressed by banker Deepak Parekh on the situation on the ground should be seen as a “wake-up call“.
Asked if the Modi government had done enough to put India on growth path, Mr. Shourie said that it was “all hyperbole.”
“Such claims are meant to grab headlines but lack substance,” he said. “The government is talking big on economic matters, but nothing is happening on the ground. Delivery is missing,” he added.
In an apparent reference to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, he said the government lacked a stable approach in dealing with investors and that “lawyerly arguments” would not convince them. He was also critical of handling of the tax issues which was keeping foreign investors away. “First it alienated them but now it has made them laugh. You come out as bullies.”
(PTI)
