Chidambaram counters Modi, says 'why stage a fake encounter with facts'

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today charged Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with 'staging a fake encounter with facts' as far as the nation's economic growth is concerned.

Chidambaram, who issued a statement here, came out with detailed growth data for the last several years.

He said the average rate of growth during the six-year NDA Government

was six percent, which was far lower than the 8.4 percent growth clockedy the UPA-I regime.

"The last four years of the UPA - II government saw growth of 7.3 percent," Chidambaram said.

"The two worst years since the turn of the century were 2001-02 (4.3 percent) and 2002-03 (4 percent)," he added.

Chidambaram said if there was a golden period of growth, it was the five-year period under UPA I.

"I wonder why Shri Narendra Modi should stage a fake encounter with facts. Ultimately, facts will prevail," he said.

Praising the six-year tenure of NDA under the leadership of Atal

Bihari Vajpayee and party's veteran leader LK Advani, Modi had earlier said, "Under Vajpayee government it looked like that the 21st century would be the century of India. But with his departure, the downfall started"

He said that the growth rate was 8.4 per cent but it came down to 4.8 per cent during the UPA's rule.

"However, once Vajpayee's tenure as PM came to an end, we regressed and are moving backwards," he said, while addressing the Indian Diaspora through a live video conference.