Shourie's comments about Modi personal: Venkaiah Naidu

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government on Tuesday said former union minister Arun Shourie's criticism of its economic policies represented personal views.

"Shourie-ji's views are not of the people or the party," union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said at a press conference here, adding that those were his personal views.

"We are a democracy; he (Shourie) has his opinion, but the country's opinion is different," Naidu said.

The central government had been doing well and people know about the challenges it had inherited, the minister said.

On Monday, in a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government, BJP leader Arun Shourie said: "There was never a weaker Prime Minister's Office than now."

"Dr Singh ko log yaad karne lag gaye hain (People have begun recalling the days of Manmohan Singh). One way to characterise policies of the government is 'Congress plus a cow'. Policies are the same," Shourie said at a book launch function.

"Some people may have made comments here or there but they have been disowned by the party, disowned by the government," Naidu said.