KUMAR ANSHUMAN

We have done better than the NDA: PM - By Kumar Anshuman Story Dated: Monday, January 21, 2013 11:2 hrs IST  During his speech at the All India Congress Committee meeting in Jaipur, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left no stone unturned in claiming that the achievements of  the eight-year rule of the UPA government are much better than the six years of the NDA rule. Of his four-page speech, he contributed a page to compare between the erstwhile NDA government and the present UPA government. Starting with growth rate, he said, “During the six years of the NDA rule, the annual growth rate was only 5.8 per cent. In comparison, the UPA has achieved a growth rate of 8.2 per cent in the last eight years.” He emphasised, “We had achieved this when the world had been going through two financial crises.” He agreed that growth rate has gone down in the recent times but argued that India is better compared to other countries. While talking about poverty alleviation, he said, “If we compare the works done by the NDA and the UPA government, the poverty rate reduction has increased by two-and-a-half times.” He argued that the agriculture sector must grow faster to remove poverty. He said, “The agriculture growth rate was 3 per cent annually during the NDA government. We have increased it to 3.7 per cent in last eight years.” He claimed that the government has ensured better wages for landless labourers. “The real wages of landless labourers had increased by only 1.1 per cent during the NDA government. It has increased by six times during the UPA government.” Singh claimed that his government has been able to prove the motto of inclusive growth. While comparing the per capita consumption in rural areas, he said, “During 1993-94 to 2004-05, the total growth in rural per capita consumption was only 0.8 per cent. In last six years this has increased six times.” Singh, however, admitted that the communication strategies of the party and the government have not been effective to get the real benefit of works done by the government. “We have not advertised our achievements, one of the reasons why people are not recognising our efforts. Perhaps our communication strategies have not been effective.”