BJP equates India's 'ease of doing business' ranking to PM Modi's 'Achche Din' promise

As India upsurged to the 77th rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2019 survey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday equated it to that of 'achche din' (good days), promised by PM Narendra Modi during his 2014 election campaign.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "Achche din have come to India through ease of doing business. We were in fragile five when we (BJP) took over.  We were at 142 rank in the ease of doing business".

In a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Patra dubbed India's improved ranking as an example of “clarity” in the Modi government versus the "confusion" prevailing in the Congress.

"On the one side were the policies of the Modi government that were all about clarity and on the other was a confused Congress president Rahul Gandhi," Patra was quoted as saying.

Terming the Congress' tenure as "ease of corruption", he said, "It is ease of doing business verses ease of corruption and India's ease of doing business ranking plummeted under Congress' 'economist' prime minister Manmohan Singh".

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Furthermore, the BJP minister thanked Prime Minister Modi for this jump in the ease of doing business rankings, attributing it to his agenda of the reform, perform, transform that he brought into the policy of India. "This jump in ease of doing business rankings, 'achche din' (good days) have arrived in the country's economy," Patra reiterated.

Joint Press Conference by Dr. Sambit Patra & Shri Gopal Krishna at BJP Central Office, New Delhi https://t.co/YrhctArf9a

— BJP Gujarat (@BJP4Gujarat) November 1, 2018

BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal, who was addressing the conference along with Patra, said the Modi government inherited policy-paralysis and had taken the bold initiative of implementing a major reform like GST.

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However, the Congress is yet to respond on the allegations made by Patra and Agarwal.

For those unserved, the World Bank's 'ease of doing business' report was released on Wednesday, which showcases India India's upgraded rank from 142 in 2014 to 77 now. In 2013, India was relegated to the pack of 'fragile five' emerging markets along with Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey by international rating agencies.