What is Arun Shourie’s biggest mistake? To support Modi as PM, says BJP leader

At a literary festival in Himachal Pradesh, Arun Shourie said that he committed a mistake by supporting Narendra Modi as India's Prime Minister.

Shimla, Oct 7: The mood and setting were perfect to discuss literature, amid the lush green surroundings of Kasauli during the sixth Khushwant Singh Literary Festival in the hill town of Himachal Pradesh on Friday.

However, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Shourie decided to take a U-turn and bring into focus about the current political situation in the country, which is clearly his favourite topic considering his recent criticism on the Narendra Modi government.

At the literary festival, the former Union minister decided to go personal and directly targeted Prime Minister Modi. The journalist-turned-politician, who has been vocally lambasting the BJP government since the last few years, said that he made a "mistake" by supporting Modi to be the PM.

This, he said, was his second mistake after supporting VP Singh who led a Janata Dal government supported by the BJP and Left parties from outside.

"I made two mistakes -- by supporting (former PM) VP Singh and then by supporting Modi," Shourie said, at the literary festival in Kasauli. Shourie was speaking on "How to recognise rulers for what they are".

"Don't go by what these fellows say now. Go by what they have been saying in the past," he said. "Actually don't even go by what they are saying, but go by what they have been doing and what they have condoned in other people. So, that is very important for the future."

He said leaders should also be judged by examining their claims "in great detail".
"I think this is one of our great failures, of our newspapers, of people like me who did not examine the claims about the Gujarat model," he said, referring to Modi's claims of Gujarat development when he was Chief Minister of the state.

"Now we are realising that it (the Gujarat model) never existed in the first place. That it was an event management.

"For example, everybody is surprised about these Gujarat Vibrant Summits. Rs 10 lakh crore have been promised, Rs 15 lakh crore investment promised. In all the nine summits, it took three years for the organisations to find out that out of all those pledges which were announced and proclaimed as great successes what proportion resulted in actual investment. Can anybody guess? Six per cent! But it was a great business success."

He also castigated the government over its job claims, saying between January and April this year 1.5 million jobs have been lost.

"And they had promised to create 2 crore jobs per year. But four days ago, there were full page ads that they have created five and half crore jobs. What kind of magic is this that so many jobs were created but we can't see it."

He said that in politics the main point to watch for a leader was their character and their adherence to truth.

"If that is not there many other things will also not. Never believe that certain things being said by people close to a person are not being said by the person. Such leaders are ventriloquists," said Shourie.

"Just believe I am talking about (US President) Donald Trump. Any resemblance closer home is your imagination."

Recently, Shourie in an exclusive interview to NDTV lashed out at the Centre over its failed economic policies, especially demonetisation or note ban.

Shourie called demonetisation "the largest money laundering scheme ever" that had given India an "idiotic jolt". He told NDTV that withdrawing the high-value currency notes last November was responsible for the economic slowdown in India.

OneIndia News