'Manmohan must step down and Modi take charge,' says former minister Shourie



Former Union minister Arun Shourie said the PM's main competence is shifting the blame onto other people

Former Union minister Arun Shourie does not see India recovering from its current economic crisis till Manmohan Singh steps down as Prime Minister and Narendra Modi takes charge at the Centre.



"Manmohan is certainly honest in financial matters but is intellectually dishonest," Shourie told Mail Today on Monday.



"Blaming someone else - that is his core competence: Blame secretary for Coalgate, Sonia Gandhi for profligate expenditure of the government, Raja for 2G scam and the world for the (current state of) economy," he added.



Shourie slammed the UPA government for the recent series of scams.



"Never in the history of India has there been as much corruption... and he (Manmohan Singh) has presided over it," he said.

The former NDA minister said the UPA government, under Manmohan's leadership, has wreaked havoc on the economy and BJP's poll panel chief Modi seems to be the best bet to contain the damage.



"Wherever I go...the view that I get from the people is Narendra Modi ko lao (bring Narendra Modi). And certainly this view among all BJP workers (about Modi's ascension as PM candidate) is universal," Shourie said.



He avoided getting dragged into the debate over other PM hopefuls in the BJP and unequivocally lent his support to Modi as the "right man, the best man". He repeatedly batted for Modi as the "only hope for a clean, decisive leadership", but did not seem very confident of the BJP's victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.



"Much will depend on the work being done at the booth level. For instance, registration of voters, turnout of voters….and the candidates that are put up," he said, exhorting the party to put up clean candidates.

