Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the economic policies of the erstwhile Congress governments. He said due to the wrong policies of the Congress, India’s sluggish growth rate came to be known as “Hindu rate of growth” in the past.

Replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s Address, the PM said, “The image of the Hindus was tarnished owing to the wrong policies of the Congress as the phrase ‘Hindu growth rate’ was coined to describe India’s slow GDP growth then.”

The Congress policies were not only detrimental to the economy but also identified a community with economic stagnation, he said. The PM said the licence-permit raj prevailing during the Congress regimes in the past was against the grain of Indians who are traditionally an enterprising people and believe in unshackling of business. “The licence-permit raj crippled India’s progress. Bribery was rampant,” the PM said. The BJP-led NDA government had worked towards dismantling these outdated systems to boost business opportunities and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, Modi said.