Marking 12 years of the NDA government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India’s earlier period of slow economic expansion had been misnamed the Hindu growth rate and should instead have been called the Congress growth rate. He claimed that previous Congress administrations had left the nation in a state of helplessness, hardship and diminished self-worth due to repeated shortcomings in policy and administration.
Speaking at an NDA leaders’ meeting in Delhi after becoming the country’s longest-serving elected prime minister, Modi described one of the alliance’s main accomplishments as releasing India from the effects of earlier Congress governance.
A key achievement of the NDA’s 12 years, he said, has been ending the cycle associated with Congress rule. The public had been led to accept that progress in India must be gradual and that swift advancement was unattainable. The label Hindu growth rate had been applied to this slow pace.
Modi argued that Congress-led governments had convinced citizens that fast development was unrealistic and that economic gains could occur only gradually. He maintained that the term wrongly placed responsibility for policy shortcomings on the Hindu majority while protecting Congress from criticism.
The approach and the resulting failures belonged to Congress, yet the blame had been directed at the nation’s large Hindu population. The pattern should properly have been termed the Congress growth rate, he added.
He described the Congress period as lacking effective administration, clear policies, resolve and firm decisions, which produced sluggish expansion and public frustration.
Modi contrasted that era with the NDA’s record, noting that the alliance had renewed citizens’ confidence in government and shown that large-scale development is achievable with political stability and focused purpose.
Recalling the 2014 election victory, he said a fresh sense of optimism had appeared among ordinary people after years of letdown. The public had placed its trust in the NDA following Congress’s perceived shortcomings.
Modi expressed satisfaction that the alliance had built on that trust over 12 years. The initial hope seen in 2014 has become renewed assurance, as people observed that a government acting with proper intent can deliver rapid progress.
He pointed to more than 250 million people lifted from poverty under NDA policies as proof that the approach is working.
The prime minister thanked NDA partners for recognising the milestone and said the achievement belonged to the entire alliance and party workers, not to him alone. He viewed the long tenure as a collective success and described public service as a form of dedication, urging continued efforts toward a developed India.
