Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday claimed India would face a setback of 50 years if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not come back to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, ANI reported. “If we are laid back and lose a strong majority government, we will be facing a setback of 50 years at least,” she said.

Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, the defence minister said that the country would do its first-time voters a disservice if it failed to recognise the Bharatiya Janata Party for its work over the last five years.

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“And for those of us who were born in the 20th century, we will be doing a disservice to those who will be voting for the first time,” she said. “Are we going to do a disfavour for the youth of this country by bringing back forces that have absolutely no delectation to this country and dedication to clean politics and dedication to putting the nation before themselves?”

Sitharaman applauded the work done by Modi after coming to power in 2014. “In the history of any nation, it’s not very often that you get a leadership like what you have got know,” she said. “Last five years have been intense work. You see the Prime Minister without a day’s break.”

The BJP leader claimed that an “obvious difference” between the previous United Progressive Alliance government led by the Congress and the current BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is the absence of corruption now. “This is why the Congress president [Rahul Gandhi] probably feels the need to point out or pick issues,” she said.