Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday defended his government’s 11-year record in the Rajya Sabha, citing economic reforms, global outreach and governance gains, while jabbing the Congress and the Trinamool amid Opposition disruptions during his Motion of Thanks reply.

Modi framed his government’s 11-year tenure as a period of structural correction and global repositioning, while accusing the Opposition of pessimism, obstruction and political decay.

Here are the six key takeaways from his February 5 address:

India’s economic journey in three numbers: 6 → 11 → 3

Modi traced India’s economic trajectory since Independence using what he called “three telling numbers”. He said India was once the sixth-largest economy, slipped to 11th place during decades of policy drift, and has now risen to third globally under his government.

“This did not happen automatically,” Modi said, crediting reforms, political stability and decisive governance.

He argued that the country’s growth story had moved beyond slogans to outcomes, insisting that India was no longer resigned to incremental change but aiming for scale and speed.

‘Future-ready’ trade deals and India’s global pitch

Highlighting India’s diplomatic and economic outreach, Modi said the world was increasingly looking to India as a reliable, growth-oriented partner.

He pointed to multiple trade agreements signed in recent years, calling the proposed pact with the European Union the “mother of all trade deals”.

“At a time when many economies are struggling with inflation and stagnation, India has become a ray of hope,” he said, arguing that India’s macroeconomic stability had boosted its credibility in global negotiations, including with the United States and other major blocs.

Banking clean-up, PSUs and social-sector gains

Modi said his government had reversed years of financial mismanagement.

He claimed that non-performing assets in the banking sector had been brought down to historic lows, countering what he called “policy paralysis” of earlier regimes.

He also highlighted the turnaround of public sector undertakings, saying several PSUs that were once written off as chronic loss-makers were now profitable.

On the social front, Modi cited targeted interventions against diseases such as encephalitis and trachoma, arguing that governance had shifted from neglect to delivery.

On Congress

Modi accused the Congress of lacking ideas, vision and a roadmap for the future.

“Congress has no plan, no direction and no confidence in the country,” Modi said, claiming his government had been forced to “clean up the mess” left behind by decades of misrule.

He also referred to slogans calling for his political burial and responding: “You will never be able to dig my grave.”

Hitting out at TMC over governance and ‘infiltrators’

Modi also trained his guns on the Trinamool Congress, accusing the ruling party in West Bengal of shielding illegal infiltrators and failing its own people.

“TMC leaders speak on many issues, but they should first look at their own shortcomings,” he said, alleging that the state government was approaching courts to protect infiltrators while ordinary citizens were suffering.

The remarks triggered protests from Opposition benches and added to the charged atmosphere in the House.

Walkouts, disruptions and a pointed remark

The Prime Minister’s speech unfolded amid persistent sloganeering, with Opposition MPs staging walkouts. At one point, Modi remarked that some members had “got tired and left,” a comment that underscored the confrontational mood in Parliament.

His Rajya Sabha reply came a day after repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha prevented him from delivering his address there, marking an instance where the Motion of Thanks was passed without a full prime ministerial reply in the Lower House.