India did better under UPA, says Chidambaram targeting Modi govt on economy; BJP hits back

The Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments delivered the highest decadal growth since Independence, former finance minister P Chidambaram claimed today as he took a dig at the current dispensation saying not one but "three finance ministers" were handling the economy.

The average growth rate under the UPA-1 government was 8.87 per cent, during which it also clocked double digit growth of 10.08 per cent in 2006-07, while under UPA-2 it was 7.39 per cent, he said, citing gross domestic product (GDP) data released by the statistics ministry.

The BJP promptly retorted claiming the UPA years were marked by rising inflation and current account deficits while the Modi government had turned the situation around.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress office here, Chidambaram said, "UPA 1 and UPA 2 delivered the highest decadal growth of 8.13 per cent at factor cost since Independence. It is also a matter of record that during this period 140 million people were lifted out of poverty."
Conveying his good wishes to the government in its fifth year, for the sake of the country, the Congress leader said the present dispensation cannot match the average growth rate of the UPA 1, but "we hope it can catch up with the average growth rate of the UPA 2."