Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government could have brought a white paper on economy in 2014 itself when it came to power but he chose ‘rashtraneeti’ over ‘rajneeti’ as he did not want to shake the country’s confidence.

The document has been introduced in the last Parliament session before the general elections.

Prime Minister Modi-led government on Thursday brought a white paper tearing into Congress-led UPA rule and saying that it had turned the Indian economy into a non-performing one through indiscriminate revenue expenditure, off budget borrowings and pile of bad debts at banks.

Addressing the Times Groups’ ET NOW Global Business Summit, PM Modi said that in the decade before 2014, the policies on which the country was running was taking the country on the path of bankruptcy. “On this, we have tabled a white paper on the economy in Parliament,” he said.

“The discussion on it is ongoing. Since there is such a big audience, I would like to state my ‘Mann ki Baat’ also that the white paper that I have brought now, I could have brought in 2014. If my aim had been to derive political gain, then I would have kept those figures before the people 10 years ago,” PM Modi said.

“When things came before me in 2014, I was stunned. The economy was in a critical situation. Due to scams and policy paralysis, there was widespread pessimism among global investors. If I would have brought these things to light, if a wrong signal would have gone, probably the country would have lost its confidence in the country like when a patient gets to know that he has a serious disease, he panics, and the country would have felt like that,” the prime minister said.

PM Modi said that bringing the white paper in 2014 would have suited him politically.

“‘Rajniti’ tells me to do that but ‘Rashtraneeti’ does not allow me to do that and, therefore, I chose ‘rashtraneeti’ over ‘rajneeti’. And when the situation has become strong in 10 years and we can sustain any assault, then I thought I should tell the truth to the people and that is why I released white paper in Parliament,” he said.

“When you look at it, you will know where we were and from what situation we have risen and reached here. Now you are seeing the new height of development,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi said it is his guarantee that in his third term, India will become the world’s third largest economy.

Speaking at the summit, Times Group MD Vineet Jain said the last ten years have been transformative for India with its economy undergoing significant structural reforms, boosting its macroeconomic foundations.

“As we embark on ‘Amritkaal’, I want us all to envision a futuristic, inclusive, and prosperous society rooted in a human-centric approach. This will be our India.

The next two decades belong to India, where initiatives like Make in India, Create in India, Serve from India, and Start up India converge into a majestic narrative, transforming the nation into a knowledge, innovation, and manufacturing hub,” Mr Jain said.

“This vision aligns perfectly with the theme of this year’s ET Now Global Business Summit – Disruption, Development, Diversification – an intricate tale echoing your vision to craft India as the Vishwaguru. During this time of change, there is no better guide than you, prime minister, to set the course,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the Election Commission of Pakistan drawing flak over the delay in declaration of the results of the general elections, former PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Saturday released a ‘victory speech’ in his AI-enabled voice, saying that the ‘London Plan’ of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif failed with the massive turnout of voters on polling day.

“My beloved countrymen. By turning out in such huge numbers and exercising your democratic right of franchise, you have laid the foundation for the restoration of the freedom to exercise citizens’ rights. I congratulate you all on helping us win the elections handsomely. I had full faith in your turning out in such large numbers to cast your ballots. You lived up to my trust and the massive turnout on election day surprised many. The ‘London Plan’ because of your active participation in the democratic exercise. Nawaz Sharif is a leader of low intelligence who gave a victory speech despite his party trailing in 30 seats,” the former PM and PTI founder said in an audio clip of his AI-enabled voice on social media platform X.

Expanding on his party’s claims of rigging and electoral malfeasance, Imran said, “No Pakistani will accept this (elecoral malpractice) and the international media has also reported extensively about it. As per the Form 45 data, we are on course to win more than 170 National Assembly seats. My fellow countrymen, you all have set a date for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. We are winning the 2024 elections with a two-thirds majority. Everyone has seen the power of your vote. Now show your ability to preserve and protect it.”

قوم کی جانب سے انتخابات میں تاریخی مقابلے، جس کے نتیجے میں تحریک انصاف کو عام انتخابات 2024 میں بے مثال کامیابی میسرآئی،کے بعد چیئرمین عمران خان کا(مصنوعی ذہانت سے تیار کردہ) فاتحانہ خطاب pic.twitter.com/8yQqes4nO9

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 9, 2024

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Shairf and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, co Chairman Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting in Lahore, Dawn News reported quoting sources.

The meeting came shortly after Nawaz claimed victory in general elections held a day earlier, and invited his allies to form a coalition government.

The PPP and PML-N were both part of the PDM government that took over from PTI after Imran Khan’s ouster from the prime minister’s office in 2022.

Meanwhile, according to the unofficial provisional results reported by Dawn News for 212 out of 266 seats, the independent candidates, mostly backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) are leading with 82 seats.

On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which has emerged as the single largest party, is trailing with 64 seats, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at 40seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan on Friday both declared victory in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil.

Sharif’s party won the most seats by a single party in Thursday’s election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.

Sharif said his party would talk to other groups to form a coalition government as it had failed to win a clear majority on its own.

Sharif’s announcement came after more than three-quarters of the 265 seats had declared results, more than 24 hours after polling ended on Thursday when 28 people were killed in militant attacks.

Analysts had predicted there may be no clear winner, adding to the woes of a country struggling to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militancy in a deeply polarised political environment.

The results showed independents, most of them backed by Khan, had won the most seats – 98 of the 245 counted by 1830 GMT.

Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 69 while the Pakistan People’s Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, got 51.

The rest were won by small parties and other independents.

“Pakistan Muslim League is the single-largest party in the country today after the elections and it is our duty to bring this country out of the whirlpool,” Sharif told a crowd of supporters gathered outside his home in the eastern city of Lahore.

“Whoever has got the mandate, whether independents or parties, we respect the mandate they have got,” he said. “We invite them to sit with us and help this wounded nation get back on its feet.”

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party released an audio-visual message created using artificial intelligence and shared on his X social media account.

In the message, which is usually delivered by word through his lawyers, Khan, 71, rejected Sharif’s claim to victory, congratulated his supporters on “winning” the election and urged them to celebrate and protect their vote.

“I trusted that you all would come out to vote – and you honoured that trust and your massive turnout has shocked everyone,” the message said, adding no one would accept Sharif’s claim because he had won fewer seats and because there had been rigging in the polls.Former cricket superstar Khan has been in jail since August, and was convicted three times in six days in the leadup to the polls for 10, 14 and seven years in cases related to state secrets, graft and an unlawful marriage.

Sharif, 74, a three-time former premier, returned from four years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom late last year, having contested the last election from a jail cell on a graft conviction.

He was considered the front-runner to lead the country, having buried a long-running feud with the powerful military.

Sharif said his party would have preferred to win a majority of its own but in the absence of that would get in touch with others, including former President Asif Ali Zardari of PPP, to open negotiations as early as Friday night.

In its first reaction, a senior aide of Khan said PTI leaders would hold talks among themselves and also meet Khan in jail on Saturday to discuss the results, Geo News reported.

Results of the vote have been unusually delayed, which the caretaker government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone services – a security measure ahead of the election.

Independent members cannot form a government on their own under Pakistan’s complex election system which also includes reserved seats that will be allotted to parties based on their winnings.

But independents have the option to join any party after the elections.

Challenges For Coalition

“A timely announcement of the results, leading to a smooth formation of a new government, will reduce policy and political uncertainty,” Moody’s Investors Service said. “This is crucial for the country that is facing very challenging macroeconomic conditions.”

The delay in the announcement of results was unusual for Pakistan. Karachi’s stock index and Pakistan’s sovereign bonds fell because of the uncertainty.

The main electoral battle had been expected to be between candidates backed by Khan, whose PTI won the last national election, and the PML-N. Khan believes the powerful military is behind a crackdown to hound his party out of existence, while analysts and opponents say Sharif is being backed by the generals.

The military has dominated the nuclear-armed country either directly or indirectly in its 76 years of independence from Britain but for several years it has maintained it does not interfere in politics.

Analysts say a coalition government will struggle to tackle multiple challenges – foremost being seeking a new bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the current arrangement expires in three weeks.

A coalition government “would probably be unstable, weak” and “the big loser … will be the army”, said Marvin Weinbaum, Director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

“Because the army really has staked its reputation on its ability to deliver this vote.”

The election was expected to help resolve the crises Pakistan has been dealing with but a fractured verdict “could very well be the basis for even deeper exposure to forces which would create instability”, he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)