‘Congress ignored all of India’s potential’: PM Modi slams licence raj, foreign dependence; calls for Atmanirbhar Bharat

BHAVNAGAR (Gujarat): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed Congress’ economic policies, saying that the party ignored India’s potential.

Addressing a public meeting in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar, PM Modi criticised the licence-quota raj before 1991 and Congress’ focus on imports after opening India’s market. Reiterating his call for self-reliance, he said, “India must become Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) and stand strong before the world. India has no shortage of potential, but after independence, Congress ignored all of India’s potential.”

“Therefore, even after 6-7 decades of independence, India has not achieved the success it deserved. There were two major reasons for this. For a long time, the Congress government kept the country entangled in the licence-quota raj, isolating it from the world market. And then, when the era of globalisation arrived, the only path to import was taken,” the Prime Minister added.

#WATCH | Gujarat | Addressing a public rally in Bhavnagar, PM Modi says, “Duniya mein koi hamara bada dushman nahi hai. Agar hamara koi dushman hai toh woh hai dusre deshon par hamari nirbharta…”

“Today, India is moving forward with the spirit of ‘Vishwabandhu’. We have no… pic.twitter.com/f6zNRbN9Rc

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2025

He took a dig at Congress over the scams under the UPA government and said that their policies prevented India’s true strength from being revealed. “Scams worth thousands, lakhs, and crores were committed. The policies of the Congress governments caused great harm to the country’s youth. These policies prevented India’s true strength from being revealed,” PM Modi said.

Further, he said that the nation’s “biggest enemy” is dependence on other countries. The PM said, “Today, India is moving forward with the spirit of ‘Vishwabandhu’. Duniya mein koi hamara bada dushman nahi hai. Agar hamara koi dushman hai toh woh hai dusre deshon par hamari nirbharta (We have no major enemy in the world. Our biggest enemy is our dependence on other countries). This is our biggest enemy, and together we must defeat this enemy of India, the enemy of dependence. We must always reiterate this.”

He added that to ensure a stable and prosperous future for the coming generations, India cannot afford to have major foreign dependence. He stated, “The greater the foreign dependence, the greater the country’s failure. For global peace, stability, and prosperity, the country with the world’s largest population must become Atmanirbhar. If we remain dependent on others, our self-respect will be hurt. We cannot leave the future of 1.4 billion countrymen to others. We cannot leave the resolution for the country’s development to the dependence of others. We cannot put the future of the coming generations at stake.”

“There is only one medicine for a hundred sorrows, and that is a self-reliant India,” the Prime Minister added. PM Modi has been reiterating his call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Earlier, in Assam, he emphasised that India has embarked on the path to becoming “self-reliant” in the energy sector, highlighting the country’s dependence on other countries for importing crude oil and gas.

“We have been dependent on foreign countries for these things. We import huge quantities of crude oil and gas from foreign countries, and in return, India has to give lakhs of crores of rupees to other countries every year. Our money creates jobs abroad. The income of the people there increases. It was necessary to change this situation. That is why India has embarked on the path of becoming self-reliant for its energy needs,” the Prime Minister said.

Meanwhile, today, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over Rs 34,200 crore at the ‘Samudra se Samriddhi’ event in Bhavnagar. (ANI)