‘Congress always emphasised sarkarikaran of policy processes, we democratised it’: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday criticised previous Congress governments for engaging in “sarkarikaran” of policy processes, which slowed the country’s growth, while noting that his government has always worked to democratise policy and processes.

Citing the example of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s decision to nationalise the banks, Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress of further distancing banks and their services from the people of the country.

Addressing a summit in New Delhi on Friday evening, PM Modi said, “The people of this country can only truly utilise their potential when the government neither exerts pressure nor interferes in their lives. The more sarkarikaran there is, the slower it will become. The more democratisation there is, the more it will accelerate. Unfortunately, the Congress party, which ruled the country for 60 years, always emphasised the sarkarikaran of the policy processes. In the past 11 years, we have worked to democratise policy and process. This is a major reason behind Unstoppable India.”

#WATCH | Delhi | At the NDTV World Summit, PM Narendra Modi says, “We democratised the banking sector and reformed it. We opened over 50 crore bank accounts in a mission mode… Today, every village in the country has some kind of banking touchpoint. Digital transactions have… pic.twitter.com/3T8O1Mf6UA

— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2025

“Banking is an example of this. In the 60s, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said that sarkarikaran was done to make banking services accessible to the poor, farmers, and the common man. But in reality, Congress governments further distanced banks from the people of the country. When our government came to power in 2014, more than half of the country’s population did not even have their bank accounts… It was very important for the country to come out of this sarkarikaran, and we made that possible,” the Prime Minister stated.

The Prime Minister highlighted that his government has democratised and reformed the banking sector, and now every village in the country has some kind of banking touchpoint. He asserted, “We democratised the banking sector and reformed it. We opened over 50 crore bank accounts in a mission mode… Today, every village in the country has some kind of banking touchpoint. Digital transactions have made India one of the most financially inclusive countries in the world…”

#WATCH | Delhi | At the NDTV World Summit, PM Narendra Modi says, “Before 2014, when the idea of ​​nationalisation was dominant, the Congress government was preparing to close petrol pumps from 8 pm to 8 am to avoid giving the subsidy on petrol and diesel… During the Congress… pic.twitter.com/0Sc4k4Y6D7

— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2025

Prime Minister Modi further claimed that the then Congress government was preparing to close petrol pumps from 8 pm to 8 am to avoid subsidies on petrol and diesel. PM Modi said, “Before 2014, when the idea of nationalisation was dominant, the Congress government was preparing to close petrol pumps from 8 pm to 8 am to avoid giving the subsidy on petrol and diesel… During the Congress regime, even to obtain a gas connection, one had to obtain a letter written by MPs… As soon as we came to power, we provided free gas connections to more than 10 crore poor families.”

The Prime Minister also targeted Congress over Naxalism, alleging that the “urban Naxals” flourished under Congress rule and used heavy censorship to ensure that no incident of Maoist terrorism reached the people of the country.

#WATCH | Delhi | “मैं बहुत ज़िम्मेदारी से कहता हूँ कि जो माथे पर संविधान की किताब लेके नाचते हैं, ये आज भी माओवादी आतंकियों की रक्षा के लिए दिन रात लगा देते है.” (I say this with great responsibility that those who dance with the Constitution on their heads, even today they work… https://t.co/HDq9EQW0pc pic.twitter.com/JV4xRfw1oH

— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2025

At the summit, PM Modi stated, “I believe that the word ‘Naxalism’ has been coined for no reason. In reality, it is Maoist terrorism… During the Congress rule, the urban Naxal ecosystem was so dominant that they used heavy censorship to ensure that no incident of Maoist terrorism reached the people of the country. There was so much concern about terrorism in our country, and there was so much debate on Article 370, but the urban Naxalites who flourished in our cities during the Congress rule, who had taken control of such institutions, used to cover up the Maoist terrorism and kept the country in the dark.” (ANI)