What the Congress-Led Government Thinks It Got Right

Pool photo by Manish Swarup Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of United Progressive Alliance, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI- In its last report card before the national elections, the Indian government acknowledged it was coming off a year of sluggish economic growth but promised citizens that it could bring back high growth rates seen in the first eight years the governing coalition has been in power.

As the United Progressive Alliance, the coalition led by the Congress Party, prepares for parliamentary elections next year, it faces several challenges in winning a third five-year term, including a struggling economy, the recent desertion of two major allies and corruption allegations that forced two ministers to resign earlier this month.

An A.B.P. News-A.C. Nielsen poll this week showed that 31 percent of respondents would vote for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party if the national elections were held today, compared to the 20 percent who picked the Congress Party.

In its annual Report to the People, which was released Wednesday the government took the long view, citing an average 8 percent growth rate seen in the first eight years since the United Progressive Alliance, or the U.P.A., took the reins of the government.

The report said the past year was “disappointing,” with the Indian economy expanding only 5 percent, but pointed out that this came at a time when euro zone members saw economic contractions and the United States experienced less than 2 percent growth.

“The central message is that U.P.A. government is working to realize your dream of an economically resurgent and socially just India,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a coalition dinner at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday to mark the end of another year in power.

He said the governing coalition has improved the economy, made economic growth more inclusive, improved governance and strengthened India's international relations.

Other achievements he cited include the near-universal enrollment of children in primary schools, increased literacy rates, higher agricultural wages and expanded access to health care. However, he said, “where access has been provided, quality is still an issue and we need to address these issues satisfactorily.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., found plenty to dispute in the government's assessment, saying that the United Progressive Alliance had mismanaged the economy, tolerated corruption among officials, allowed “atrocities” against women and weakened India's position with regards to its neighbors Pakistan and China.

“Rarely has the nation witnessed the kind of cynicism against the government as is prevalent today,” Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, senior B.J.P. leaders, said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “Today, the Indian prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, is synonymous with indecision, inability and silence.”