Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday accused the BJP-led central government of consistently spreading misinformation about the economy to cover up what he called its “massive failures.” He claimed that over the past eleven years, the government has systematically weakened every sector of the Indian economy.
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “The Modi government has made it a habit to spread lies about the economy to hide its gross failures! For 11 consecutive years, this incompetent government has been destroying every sector of the economy. The truth is here.”
Earlier on Monday, Kharge had launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP government completed 11 years in office. The Congress leader alleged that the administration had “ruined” the country and that its much-promoted promise of “achhe din” (good days) had turned into a “dreadful dream.”
He pointed to unfulfilled promises, particularly on the issue of farmers’ welfare. “The promise of doubling farmers’ income was not fulfilled, so they had to eat rubber bullets,” he said, while also raising concerns over women’s security, which he claimed is “in tatters.”
Kharge also accused the government of encouraging atrocities against minorities, saying that their “participation in society is lost.”
Meanwhile, on May 23, the NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, while addressing the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting on ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047,’ stated that India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.
“We are the fourth-largest economy as I speak, a USD 4 trillion economy. This is not my data; this is the data from the IMF. India today is larger than Japan. It’s only the United States, China, and Germany that are larger,” said Subrahmanyam. “If we stick to what is being planned, what is being thought through, it’s a matter of another two to three years; we would become the third-largest economy,” he added.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi also addressed the milestone, saying the focus must now be on the next target. “The pressure has increased to go one notch higher in the ladder of top global economies,” he said during a rally in Gandhinagar.
He emphasized the national goal for the centenary of India’s independence: “By 2047, India must be a ‘Viksit nation’ with no compromise.”
The opposing narratives reflect an intensifying political battle over the Modi government’s economic record as India approaches a crucial phase of development and global positioning.