PM sharpens attack on the Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India’s slow-growth era was wrongly labelled the Hindu growth rate and should instead have been dubbed the Congress growth rate, slamming the grand old party for allegedly plunging the country into years of policy and governance failures.

“The nation was conditioned to believe that development in India inevitably moves at a snail’s pace, that rapid growth was simply not possible here. In reality, this phenomenon should have been named the Congress growth rate. This Congress growth rate was characterised by a complete absence of governance, policy, intent, and decisiveness. It was under Atal ji’s leadership that the NDA Government first came to power; only then did we catch a glimpse of what accelerated development looks like”, Modi said.

PM Modi also said a big success of the 12 years of the NDA rule since 2014 was that it freed the country from the Congress’ “vicious trap” and asserted that the people of the country had understood the importance of political stability and decisive governance.

“Unfortunately, however, in 2004, the country was once again caught in a vortex of instability and the stranglehold of the Congress. It dragged the country into multi-crore rupee scams. It should have been named Congress growth rate,” the prime minister said.

PM Modi was speaking at a NDA conclave to celebrate his milestone in surpassing Jawaharlal Nehru’s record to become India’s longest-serving elected PM. Chief Ministers of NDA ruled states, including N Chandrababu Naidu, were present on the occasion, besides members of the Union Cabinet from the alliance.

NDA leaders congratulated Modi on becoming the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister and resolved to continue working towards the goal of a Viksit Bharat under his leadership.

In a resolution passed at a day-long conclave here, the ruling alliance hailed Modi’s “visionary leadership and tireless dedication to public service” and said his governance model is responsive to citizens, innovative in its approach and transformative in its impact, in the true spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’.

Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the defining character of the last 12 years has been the seamless integration of people-centric development, participative democracy and performance-oriented governance, it said. “The National Democratic Alliance expresses its deepest gratitude to the people of India for their continued trust and support. It congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visionary leadership and tireless dedication to public service,” the resolution said.

In his 37-minute speech, largely focused on his Government’s achievements in the last 12 years and his vision for a Viksit Bharat, PM Modi, invoking his lifelong mission to serve the nation, said he was committed to make India a developed nation.

“From 74 airports in 2014 to over 160 airports by 2026; from 1,000 kilometres of expressways in 2014 to 6,700 kilometres by 2026; from metro services in just five cities in 2014 to over twenty cities by 2026; and from Rs 700 crore in defence exports in 2014 to Rs 23,000 crore by 2026, the country has traversed a long journey. In 2014, there were only 25 crore internet users in the country; today, over 100 crore users are connected to the internet. In 2014, digital payments were negligible; today, India ranks number one in digital transactions,” he said.

“The point is, if so much could be achieved in 12 years, why didn’t it happen over the preceding decades? This illustrates the difference between the Congress-era growth rate and the NDA-era growth rate. One system kept people waiting; today’s system delivers results. One system used to stall and derail work; today’s system ensures that work gets done on time and on a massive scale. The story from 2014 to 2026 is not merely a tale of statistics. It is the story of an India that has, for the first time, begun to run at its full potential, an India that sets ambitious goals and works tirelessly to achieve them,” PM Modi said.