Modi’s Juggling with Figures

The recent Tehelka expose uncovered the lethal face of the perpetrators of Gujarat 2002, for the first time in the history of journalism. Mass murderers were on camera telling us how they killed, why they killed, and with whose permission they did it.

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June 14, 2022
The recent Tehelka expose uncovered the lethal face of the perpetrators of Gujarat 2002, for the first time in the history of journalism. Mass murderers were on camera telling us how they killed, why they killed, and with whose permission they did it. And as far as the development is concerned one must remember that Narendra Modi was seen declaring that the state’s economy grew by 12.17 per cent in 2006-07, indicating 3 per cent higher than the national average. However, the growth rate of 12.17 per cent quoted by Modi is for fiscal 2005-06, not 2006-07. The ‘Socio-Economic Review, Gujarat State, 2006-07’ released by the government recently mentions this in black and white. Latest calculations by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, government of Gujarat, which have not yet been made public, suggest that the growth rate of the state’s economy in 2006-07 was just 8.11 per cent far away from the much tom-tommed “double digit growth”. In fact, this is 1 per cent less than the estimated national average. This is not the first time these statistics have been misrepresented. In 2003-04, early estimates said the state’s growth rate was 15.4 per cent. However, the final figure for 2003-04 turned out to be lower – 14.77 per cent. A year later, in 2004-05, the growth rate plunged to 7.38 per cent, less than the national average of 7.5. After meeting with the Planning Commission in New Delhi, Modi also said Gujarat’s agriculture was growing at the rate of 10.2 per cent. Again, the figure he quoted was for 2005-06. Is the Modi regime juggling with figures all because of the elections?
Farzana Nigar
Ranchi, Jharkhand