‘It was Congress rate of growth, not Hindu Rate’: PM Modi takes swipe at Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday used the occasion of becoming India’s longest continuously serving Prime Minister to attack the Congress, saying the term “Hindu rate of growth” was coined to hide the failures of Congress governments and should instead have been called the “Congress rate of growth.”

Addressing a meeting of NDA leaders at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Modi criticised the phrase often used by economists to describe India’s modest economic growth between the 1950s and the 1980s. According to him, the label unfairly associated slow growth with Hindu society while shielding Congress governments from accountability.

“The country has been liberated from the Congress. They made people believe that development would be slow in India. They gave it a name: Hindu rate of growth. The failures were of the Congress, but the blame was upon Hindus. It should have been called the Congress rate of growth,” Modi said.

Elaborating on his criticism, the Prime Minister said, “The Congress had plunged the country into an abyss of helplessness, destitution, and an inferiority complex. 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. With great cunning, this sluggish growth was labelled the ‘Hindu Growth Rate’, implying that while the style, responsibility, and failure were all Congress’s, the stigma was pinned on the country’s vast Hindu population.”

“In reality, this phenomenon should have been named “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. Unfortunately, however, in 2004, the country was once again caught in a vortex of instability and the stranglehold of the Congress,” he added.

Modi also credited the NDA government under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for demonstrating what rapid development could look like and said the country had benefited from political stability under the NDA.

Reflecting on his own milestone, the Prime Minister said, “I never thought that I would get the opportunity to be the longest serving elected PM. This is my good fortune. It’s only with God’s grace that this was possible, and for me, people are like God… This has been like a yagna in which you all contributed. I thank all such friends today.”

Calling the achievement a collective one, Modi said the NDA had passed a resolution marking the occasion and stressed that it was not an individual accomplishment. He added that stable governments had helped accelerate development and strengthen public confidence.

“After the betrayal by the Congress, the people placed their trust upon us. And we strengthened people’s faith in our country. The sun of hope that dawned in 2014 has now become a prakash punj of confidence,” Modi said.

Highlighting the government’s welfare achievements, the Prime Minister said that 25 crore people had been lifted out of poverty during the NDA’s tenure. He also called on states to compete for economic development rather than political rivalry.

“Sabka prayas is the real oorja of the country… Now is the time when states should compete for better economic performance. India will develop when our states develop. Let us move beyond political competition and compete for development,” he said.