People have begun to miss Manmohan Singh days: BJP's Arun Shourie

NEW DELHI: BJP member Arun Shourie on Monday hit out at the Narendra Modi government, saying that managing the economy for them meant "managing headlines". He added that a year-anda-half into the NDA government's tenure, people in India had started "missing the days of former PM Manmohan Singh". "Doctor Singh (Manmohan Singh) ko log yaad karne lag gaye hain (People have started recalling the days of Manmohan Singh). The way to characterise policies of the government is -Congress... plus a cow. Policies are the same," Shourie said at a book launch function, which was also attended by Singh and chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian

Pointing out differences between the present and the previous govern ment, he said, "There is clearer belief (in the present dispensation) that managing economy rie managing economy means managing the headlines and this is not re ally going to work."

The former NDA minis ter also questioned Modi's leadership. "I feel there was never a weaker Prime Minister's Office as now," he added. He said, "There has never been as great a centralisation of functions, not power, of functions in PMO as now. ...If fellows don't have domain expertise, that Brajesh Mishra had, L K Jha had, all these principal secretaries had, then things get stuck."

"If you look at the impediments that were there in tax administration, virtually no change... Banking reform has been delayed by a year-and-ahalf for no reason. Therefore, tortoise is a very generous metaphor," Shourie added.

He claimed that industrialists are afraid of speaking against the government, adding that Parliament had become an alibi for lack of action.