12 years of NDA in power: PM Narendra Modi says reforms to continue

Prime Minister says reforms are a matter of conviction, not compulsion, as NDA leaders felicitate him for becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister

As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government celebrated 12 years in power at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday promised the country that the speed and scale of his government’s decisions would be larger and more comprehensive in the years to come.

 

He said reforms, which would “continue unceasingly,” were “not a compulsion but a matter of conviction for his government.”

 

Addressing NDA leaders, including its chief ministers here, the PM spoke of the country being on the cusp of achieving self-reliance in renewable and nuclear energy. He said there has recently been “positive news” in the sector of oil and gas exploration, and India is on the road to become a manufacturing powerhouse because of the decisions taken in the initial years of the government in 2014 to 2016.

 

 

Modi said India is set to do well in two more sectors, tourism and sports in the years to come, and the country is preparing for hosting the Olympics.

 

The PM said “healthy competition” among states to become the $1 trillion economies, among cities to become centres of innovation and among regions to create most jobs would be the key to India’s progress.

 

The PM detailed his government's decisions, which he said eased the lives of the country's middle-class families. These decisions included tax-free income up to ₹12 lakh, infrastructure improvements, and more opportunities in every sector for the children of middle class families. 

 

The PM said the Congress’ failure in taking decisions when it was in power was to blame for India’s sluggish economic growth, which he said was insidiously dubbed "Hindu Growth Rate" when it should have been called "Congress Growth Rate".

 

He said this “Congress growth rate” lacked governance, intent and policy. It was under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership that the NDA government first came to power and only then did the country get a glimpse of what accelerated development looked like, Modi said in his 37-minute long speech.

 

The PM compared the "Congress growth rate," which he said was sluggish, and the "NDA growth rate" characterised by speed and scale.

 

He said the NDA government achieved success over the last 12 years while the world faced turmoil, including recent months when top global economies struggled.

 

During this time, India witnessed 7.8 per cent growth in the last quarter of 2025-26.   

 

"Unfortunately, in 2004, the country was once again caught in a cycle of instability," he said, referring to the Congress-led UPA rule from 2004-2014. He said the nation's destiny changed again when the NDA government was formed in 2014.

 

Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet passed a resolution to felicitate the PM for surpassing first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s record to become “India's longest-serving elected prime minister.”

 

The NDA meeting also felicitated the PM. The Cabinet members gave Modi a standing ovation, as did the NDA leaders. The Cabinet backed Modi's vision of a "Viksit Bharat" and praised his leadership on national security, inclusive growth and social justice.

 

The Centre also released a booklet to mark 12 years of the NDA government, which said the reduction in income tax burden over the past 12 years reflects the government's vision of 'Ramrajya'.

 

It said reforms like the implementation of goods and services tax (GST), introduction of a faceless tax regime and Digital India have helped build trust in the public system. This would support India in becoming a $ 5-trillion economy.

 

Alluding to the phase of coalition politics, the PM said that the country suffered during that period of instability, and people have now come to appreciate the importance of political stability and decisiveness of a stable government.

 

"For me, people represent God," he said. The PM criticised the Congress’ years in power.

 

The PM received congratulatory messages from several heads of government and state. However, the Congress said that Modi may have passed a "self-proclaimed and dubiously invented" milestone but he is a "millstone" around India's neck, presiding over the "murder of democracy". Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Jawaharlal Nehru became prime minister of India on August 15, 1947 presiding over a stellar Cabinet - the likes of which have rarely been seen in the world.

 

Over the next five years, modern India came into being, he said on X. "Over 560 princely states were integrated peacefully into the Indian Union, the Constitution of India was debated and adopted, zamindari was abolished, reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were put in place, a number of multipurpose irrigation-cum-power projects were launched, the infrastructure for science and technology capability was established (including in nuclear energy), and India emerged as a force in global affairs," Ramesh said. He said in the last 12 years scientific temper has been erased through the destruction of India’s educational institutions as exposed most recently by the NEET-CBSE scandals. “And while Nehru won in 1952, 1957, and 1962 with a hugely decisive majority, Modi "did not secure even a simple majority by a considerable margin in 2024 and had to hurriedly convene a NDA meeting bypassing the BJP Parliamentary Party to anoint himself as PM," Ramesh said, adding that "2024 was most certainly not a mandate for him".

 

Among world leaders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were among prominent leaders who extended their greetings through social media posts. Others who praised Modi for achieving what they said was a milestone include former top leader of Ireland Leo Varadkar, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung, Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim, Sri Lankan President Aruna Kumara Dissanayake, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay and former Australian PM Scott Morrison.