Nuclear deal lowest point in Manmohan Singh`s tenure: Arun Jaitley

Bharatiya Janata Party, singed by Manmohan Singh`s remarks against Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, took the Prime Minister on saying the nuclear deal with the US was actually the lowest point of his tenure.

Zee Media Bureau/Hemant Abhishek

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party, singed by Manmohan Singh`s remarks against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday took the Prime Minister on saying the nuclear deal with the US was actually the lowest point of his tenure. Sharing the dais with Baba Ramdev, senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said that the nuclear deal with the US was nothing to be proud of for the PM. "Country is suffering due to the nuke deal with US," Jaitley said. Reacting to PM`s remarks that Narendra Modi`s ascent as the PM could be disastrous for the nation, Jaitley said that the country needs change, to achieve what two terms of UPA couldn`t. "A politician given ten years to govern can change the face of the entire nation. Only Gujarat can be cited as such an example," he said. He questioned PM`s achievements while in office, Jaitley avered, "We should learn a lesson from Manmohan Singh`s tenure as PM — the post is not just another regular job. It doesn`t matter how many years one has served as PM, what matters is how you have served nation." Seconding Ramdev`s demands for tax reforms, he said, "An Indian is laden with taxes from the time of his birth to death." And said the phenomenon of black money had risen due to the flawed tax regimen in the country. Excessive taxes, Jaitley said, also cause a rise in black money as people stash away money illegally to evade levies. He said the life of the common man had become all about paying taxes since his birth to death, listing out numerous taxes levied on using road to house, service, electricity, water besides income tax. "Whatever a man earns through his hard work, he can finally keep only a small fraction of it and the rest goes out... There is a dire need to simplify the tax regime, to rationalise it," he said, adding he had come to appreciate points made by Ramdev and his aides following his long interactions with them over the years. Addressing a press conference here, Manmohan Singh had said Modi as prime minister will be "disastrous" for the country.  "If you measure the strength of Prime Minister by presiding over mass massacre of innocent citizens on streets of Ahmedabad, then I do not believe in it... I do not think that this kind of strength this country needs least from its Prime Minister," Singh had said.