Cong-UPA Rule Left India Mired In Corruption, Misgovernance And Helplessness: Tarun Chugh

(MENAFN- IANS) Gandhinagar, Sep 2 (IANS) Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in-charge Tarun Chugh on Wednesday said that the Congress-led UPA government had left India facing corruption, misgovernance and terrorism between 2004 and 2014, and credited Narendra Modi's leadership since 2014 with putting the country on a path of "development and good governance".

Chugh was speaking at a BJP state-level workshop in Gandhinagar organised ahead of the party's month-long 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan', which will run from September 17 to October 17 to mark PM Modi completing 25 uninterrupted years as a head of government, first as Gujarat Chief Minister and subsequently as Prime Minister.

Referring to the period between 2004 and 2014, Chugh said the country had been "in a state of helplessness" in the face of corruption, misgovernance and terrorism, while an atmosphere of disappointment and frustration had prevailed.

"When there was a perception that nothing could be done for the country, Gujarat gave India a strong, decisive and farsighted leader in PM Modi in 2014. The country elected a full-majority government after three decades, with the results now visible in India's economic and developmental progress," he said.

Chugh said India had made "unprecedented progress" across sectors over the past 12 years and had moved from being the world's 11th-largest economy to the fourth-largest.

He described India as the world's fastest-growing major economy and said its growth rate had remained at 7.8 per cent despite global conflicts affecting several economies. "This is the new India," Chugh said, referring to India's response to terrorism.

He said the country is now giving a "befitting response" to terrorist attacks and carrying out operations against terrorists across the border.

He attributed India's progress amid global challenges to PM Modi's leadership and diplomacy, and said: "The government has continued its development agenda despite the Covid-19 pandemic and global wars."

Chugh also highlighted the government's welfare and development initiatives, saying the PM Modi-led administration had worked towards fulfilling the aspirations of poor people, farmers, youth and women.

He said several long-standing problems had been addressed and India had made progress in development, good governance, security and welfare.

Turning to Gujarat's experience under PM Modi, Chugh said: "After becoming Chief Minister in 2001, PM Modi had worked to address problems relating to electricity, water and roads, making the state a 'leader' across sectors and a symbol of peace, security and development."

He said the "Gujarat Model" had generated confidence across the country and contributed to Modi receiving a historic mandate to become Prime Minister.

"PM Modi is also working to place India's interests first and to showcase the country's culture and heritage internationally," he emphasised.

The workshop was chaired by state BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma and attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, BJP national Seva Sankalp Abhiyan team zone in-charge Ashish Shelar and state organisation general secretary Ratnakar, among others.

Chugh also guided party workers on organising programmes involving public participation during the month-long campaign marking 'PM Modi's 25 years of service and dedication'.

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