PM Modi takes dig at Congress over "speed of development, speed of corruption"

New Delhi [India], February 15 (ANI): Referring to the pace of development under the BJP-led government for the past 10 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the Congress, saying if "speed of development and speed of corruption" under its rule had continued, a prime period of the country would have been wasted.
Speaking at ET Now Global Business Summit 2025, the Prime Minister spoke of the speedier justice under the new criminal laws and noted that aspirational districts have now transformed into inspirational districts of the nation
"Sometimes I feel that if people had not given us blessings in 2014...the country was running earlier too. Congress speed of development and Congress speed of corruption, if that had continued, a prime period the country would have been wasted," he said.
"In 2014, the Congress had a plan that they will take the country from the 11th largest economy to third largest economy. A time period of 30 years was given, that was their speed of development. But what is the speed of development for Viksit Bharat? Within one decade, the country was in the top 5 position considering the economy," he added.
He said BJP-led NDA parties have been "blessed" by people and thanked the people of Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana and New Delhi for showing immense support for the commitment to Viskit Bharat.
He acknowledged this as a recognition of how the citizens of the country are shoulder-to-shoulder in the pursuit of the goal of a developed India.
PM Modi remarked that previous dispensations avoided reforms, with a mindset of not wanting to undertake hard work.
He added that today the reforms being undertaken in India was with full conviction. He highlighted that there was rarely any discussion about how major reforms could bring significant changes to the country. He pointed out that living under the burden of colonialism had become a habit in India.
He cited an instance where phrases like 'justice delayed is justice denied' were heard for a long time, but no concrete steps were taken to address this issue.
The Prime Minister highlighted that over time, people became so accustomed to these things that they didn't even notice the need for change. He added that there was an ecosystem that doesn't allow discussions about good things to take place and puts energy into preventing such discussions.
PM Modi emphasized that in a democracy, it is crucial to have discussions and debates about positive things.
However, he added that a narrative had been created that saying something negative or spreading negativity is considered democratic, whereas if positive things are discussed, democracy is labelled as weak. He stressed that it was essential to come out of this mentality.
Remarking that after independence, numerous districts in the country were left untouched by development due to poor governance, PM Modi said instead of focusing on these districts, they were labelled as backward and left to their fate.
No one was willing to address their issues, and government officers were sent there as punishment postings, he noted.
"We changed this approach by declaring over 100 districts as Aspirational Districts," he said. (ANI)