"Congress feels proud in lifting 140 million people from poverty from 2004-2014": Shashi Tharoor

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 29 (ANI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday that the Congress party feels proud that from 2004 to 2014, "more than 140 million people came out of poverty."
He also claimed that international institutions like the United Nations have also recognised those figures.
Speaking with ANI, Shashi Tharoor said, "If we look at the figures, the BJP does not have a leg to stand on. The Congress takes pride that from 2004 to 2014, more than 140 million people came out of poverty. World Bank, United Nations and other international institutions agreed with this."
The Congress leader also claimed that any data from Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not received international recognition.
He added, "During the time of PM Modi, our condition in the Malnutrition Index, Global Hunger Index, and Global Happiness Index has deteriorated, everything is falling. Does PM Modi have the right to say that he removed poverty? Absolutely not."
Tharoor also criticised PM Narendra Modi for stopping the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey and said that he doesn't want the real figures. "Ask people about their situation. Ask the people if their condition has improved. PM Modi stopped the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey as he didn't want real figures."
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his election rallies, keeps targeting Congress for not doing anything to alleviate poverty.
While addressing a public rally in Mumbai on May 17, PM Modi had said that the Congress party made the poor people feel as if "they were born to live in poverty," adding that the Modi government was able to take 25 crore people out of poverty in the last 10 years.
He also took a jibe at the Congress party over its "non-fulfillment" of the promise of eradicating poverty.
"Congress kept saying for 60 years that they will eradicate poverty... In their 20-25-minute speech from the Red Fort, the Prime ministers of this family only spoke on poverty...They made poor people feel as if they were born to live in poverty, it seemed impossible to eradicate people from poverty. In 10 years, Modi brought 25 crore people out of poverty. What seemed impossible, became possible," PM Modi had added. (ANI)