Mumbai, 6 Mar: Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Wednesday said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India has moved from Fragile Five’ to top five economies in the world over the last 10 years.
He said inflation had soared to double-digits during the Congress-led UPA regime (2004-2014), but the Modi movement has contained it below 5 per cent and added India has emerged from a dark spot earlier to a bright spot on the global map now.
Before 2014, the Indian economy was fragile, inflation was high and fiscal deficit beyond control, Shah said at the India Global Forum’s annual investment summit NXT10 in Mumbai.
Today, India has emerged as a policy-driven state, he said, adding the country will be a USD 4 trillion economy by this year-end.
Shah said India is aiming high in the space sector and “our target is to set up a space station by 2025.”
The former BJP president said the Congress-led UPA government saw a raft of scams.
“Inflation soared to double-digits during the Congress-led UPA regime, but our government has contained it below 5 per cent. The country’s confidence was shaken due to various scams involving Rs 12 lakh crore during the UPA’s tenure, and crony capitalism was at its peak,” he said.
Shah said during the previous government’s tenure, the country experienced a policy paralysis, where every minister considered himself as the Prime Minister, and the actual PM was not acknowledged.
From 2004 to 2014, not a single policy was formulated by the Manmohan Singh government, but things have changed in the last ten years, said the Union minister.
In contrast, in the last 10 years, Prime Minister Modi has crafted over 40 policies, shaping the country’s economy and presenting the best example of a policy-driven state, he said.
“The Modi government has taken more than 50 transformative decisions in its 10-year tenure and is recognized globally for changing the direction and destiny of India,” Shah asserted.
He highlighted key decisions such as demonetization (2016) to curb corruption and counterfeit currency, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, significant steps to address the issues of Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in banks, and the expansion of the digital landscape through Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile (JAM) trinity.
Shah stated that surgical and airstrikes sent a strong message to the world that no one can challenge India’s Army or violate its borders.
“PM Modi ended the practice of instant triple talaq, providing relief to millions of Muslim mothers and sisters. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) provided citizenship rights to persecuted
refugees, and the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A permanently integrated Kashmir with India,” said the home minister.
The introduction of the New Education Policy reflects India’s future and its values, while the Nari Shakti Vandan Act secured 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative Assemblies and Parliament, empowering them in policy-making, Shah said.
“Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has emerged from a dark spot to a bright spot on the global map, and it has seen the transformation from a silent prime minister to a vibrant prime minister,” he said.
“Today, the country has a visionary Prime Minister and leader…Narendra Modi has not taken a single day leave in the last 23 years (first as Gujarat CM and then as PM) and has been continuously working,” said the senior BJP leader.
Shah asserted Modi has never faced corruption allegations.
“We have seen a government (referring to UPA) embroiled in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore, but Modi ji has been the Chief Minister of Gujarat and then Prime Minister for collectively over 23 years and during his terms in office, the opposition has never levelled any allegation of corruption against him,” he maintained.
The home minister said he was confident that India will be rid of the Left Wing Extremism in the next two years.
“We are approaching elections with our government’s performance of last 10 years and roadmap of next 25 years,” the Union minister said ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Lauding Modi as a visionary PM, Shah said that by 2047, when the country celebrates its centenary of independence, Bharat will be completely developed, ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) and among the top three economies in the world.
“Bharat is a self-confident and self-reliant country, which has transformed itself from a dormant to a dynamic government, from regressive to progressive growth, and from a fragile economy to a top economy,” Shah said.
The progress made in the last 10 years should be compared with the previous UPA government’s decade, he said.
“Unless you do not know how deep the pothole was, you cannot understand the progress we achieved,” the senior BJP said.
“The fiscal deficit was beyond control, and we were at the bottom of the ease-of-doing-business rankings. The country’s ratings declined while banks struggled with their balance sheets. The country faced political instability for 30 years,” Shah said.
After the Congress, the BJP became the only party which came to power with an absolute majority, the home minister said.
He said the average inflation rate from 2004 to 2014 was 8.2 per cent and in double digits between 2010-11 and 2013-14.
The country’s GDP growth in 2013-14 was 6.9 per cent, and today it stands at 8.4 per cent, Shah said. (PTI)
“The per capita GDP was USD 3,889 in the UPA period, which jumped to USD 6,000 during the Modi government. The value of electronics exports was USD 7.6 billion during the UPA period, which increased to USD 23 billion under the Modi government,” he said. (PTI)