Note ban was largest money-laundering plan ever: Arun Shourie

NEW DELHI: Slamming the Narendra Modi government over sliding economic growth and increasing job losses, former Union minister Arun Shourie has likened demonetisation to suicide, saying the latter is too "a bold step". He also called the Modi government as "government of twoand-a-half persons".

"This is a government by `ilhaam' (revelation). The PM 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. He said, "It was the largest money-laundering scheme ever, conceived and implemented by the government." It was an "idiotic jolt", he said, "every one who had black converted it into white".

PM 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," he said.Shourie also took a dig at BJP president Amit Shah, terming him "that famous economist" and underscoring that official figures cannot be brushed under the carpet.

"This is a government of two-and-a-half persons, 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," he said.