PR can polish picture of GDP, but not economy itself: Congress slams Modi government

way2barak, September 2: The Congress on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) cited former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg’s reported remarks on GDP numbers to attack the Modi government, saying it must understand that “PR can polish the picture” of the GDP but not the economy itself.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video clip of Mr. Garg in which he stated that by revising last year’s GDP by as much as ₹6 trillion, the current year’s GDP in the first quarter has gone up by around 10.3%.

In his post in Hindi on X, Mr. Ramesh said that no matter how much the Modi government beats the drum of its fabricated GDP growth, conjured up through statistical jugglery by its team and media, its true reality will be exposed because what they are claiming is the complete opposite of ground realities.

“Former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg has now burst the bubble on this claim. He assesses that the real GDP growth is around 2.6%, not 7.8%,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“We want the economy to truly be strong, but the path to a strong economy doesn’t come from embellishing numbers fabricated on a foundation of lies – it comes from accepting the truth,” the Congress leader said.