The public criticism of the Modi government, and of the “trimurti” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah, by former Union minister Arun Shourie, who was a leading light of the first NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee and can be said to be an ideologue of the Right, came as a surprise. But Mr Shourie, from his days as a newspaper editor, was known to be forthright, with a broad — rather than a narrow — political sense, whose most noticeable feature was a pronounced anti-Congress tilt.
A BJP spokesman chose to react to Mr Shourie’s comments. And so did a couple of ministers — a sign that the negative assessment hurt as the country’s first BJP government with a majority prepares to mark the first anniversary of its formation. But their response is blasé, without polish, and avoids the issues raised.
The former minister was officially called a “fair weather friend” by the BJP. This is a shocking departure from the known facts. Mr Shourie had sprung to the BJP’s defence all those years ago when not many were ready to associate with the party, and well before the Vajpayee government was even conceived.
Regrettably, it was also noted by one minister, and some others, that Mr Shourie was critical of the present regime because he wasn’t given any position under the Modi dispensation. This revealed the finesse of a street-level operator, and serious-minded figures in the ruling party ought to be appalled by it. Let it not be forgotten that among those who had urged then PM Vajpayee not to sack then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for not observing “raj dharma” was Mr Shourie.
There are two prongs to the criticisms that the former journalist and minister makes. If the regime is sensible, it will pay heed and not allow its drum-beaters to drown out the dissenter’s voice. On the economic side, Mr Shourie believes this government has shown no direction; there are basically only pronouncements and bluster. He is hardly alone in saying so. Industry people are saying the same thing.
On the political side, Mr Shourie is critical of the egregious sectarian push under Mr Modi as defined by “ghar-wapsi” and similar communal programmes that undermine the governance agenda. In the political sphere, he also draws attention to the concentration of power in the Prime Minister’s Office, and the “trimurti” calling all the shots, leaving the rest of the party and the government high and dry (and potentially with a grievance).
For all that, Arun Shourie is not yet disillusioned. He believes Mr Modi still has the potential to lead. The PM just has to prove him right.
