National
Suicide too is a bold step, Shourie says of demonetisation
New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) Slamming the Narendra Modi government over sliding economic growth and increasing job losses, former Union Minister Arun Shourie has likened demonetisation with suicide, saying the latter is too “a bold step”.
He also called the Narendra Modi government as “government of two-and-a-half persons”.
“This is a government by ‘ilhaam’ (revelation). The Prime Minister has the ‘ilhaam’ one night that demonetisation should be done and he does it. In any case it was a bold step. I have to remind you suicide too is a bold step,” Shourie said in an interview with NDTV when asked why in his view, the government went in for demonetisation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8 last year.
“Which argument (offered by the government in defence of demonetisation) today survives? Black money? All of it turned white. Terrorism? Terrorists are still coming into India. At the end they have nothing to say,” he added.
Shourie also took a dig at BJP President Amit Shah who has said that current slowdown is “due to technical reasons”, terming him “that famous economist?” and underscoring that official figures cannot be brushed under the carpet.
He also said those running the government do not seek any advice or hear the facts.
“This is a government of two-and-a-half persons, that is, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and one in-house lawyer. They don’t have the expertise and they have surrounded themselves by persons who don’t have the expertise.
“They are now in a sealed echo-chamber. They don’t hear what is happening. The distress the RBI has documented of small and medium enterprise. These poor fellows had been clamouring and shouting. Nobody heard them,” he added.
He said that persons like Yashwant Sinha, P. Chidambaram and several other economists have been “talking about facts”.
“And those facts emerge from official reports such as The Economic Survey, the RBI surveys, the SBI’s report etc. Is it a fact or not that GDP has collapsed to 3.7 per cent according to the old series? Is it a fact or not that index of industrial production has gone down from about 9 per cent in 2015-16 to about 1.7 per cent in April to July? Is it not a matter of concern?” Shourie said.
However, he said, despite all the red signals, there was little hope of a course change as “it all flows from the nature of the government” and the Modi government has a “sense of hustings”.
“Their core competence is event management. They are so self-satisfied with it. They are just briefing each other, not listening to others… They are concerned about 300-feet statute, bullet trains etc,” he said.
On BJP and government functionaries calling former Union Minister Sinha a “frustrated” person after he lashed out at the government, Shourie said it was “their standard operating procedure”.
“Whenever they are confronted with inconvenient facts, they try to bury it in avalanche of abuse. I have aconstructive suggestion for them. They should publish a list of persons in advance who they think are frustrated,” he said.
He said that the government’s policies must have predictability, stability and credibility — all of which is totally absent now — so that investors and industry are sure of what they can expect from the government and not taken by surprise by out of the blue announcements followed by policy flip flops as has happened under the present regime, be it demonetisation or GST implementation.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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