The Congress said on Wednesday the GDP back series data released by Niti Ayog reflected the “desperate attempt of a defeatist” Narendra Modi government to undermine India’s growth story over the last 15 years. “The Modi goverment and its puppet Niti Aayog want the people to believe that 2+2= 8! Such is the gimmickry, jugglery, trickery and chicanery being sold as back series data," said party’s media-in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Since the advent of the BJP-led NDA government in May 2014, there has been a determined effort to run down the record of the two UPA governments under Manmohan Singh, he said. “A lot of confusion was sown and the Modi government added to the confusion by changing the base year from 2004-05 to 2011-12.”.

“The Congress party had repeatedly pointed out that when the base year is changed, the government should follow the healthy international practice and revise the numbers for the previous years. We had demanded that the back series data of GVA and GDP should be calculated and released so that meaningful comparisons can be made,” he added.

Surjewala claimed that UPA-I and UPA-II delivered the highest decadal growth (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,” he said. “Infact, under the Modi govt, there has been complete stagnation in investment. The peak Gross Fixed Capital Formation as a per cent of GDP was 34.3 per cent in 2011-12. Even in 2013-14, it was 31.3 per cent. However, in the last three years, it has remained constant at 28.5 per cent. At that level of investment (GFCF), it is not possible to achieve higher growth rates,” he added.

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