Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 2 (PTI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said the country has seen exponential economic upsurge in the last decade and has become the fastest growing global economy during this period.The Vice President made the statement while delivering the 4th P Parameswaran Memorial Lecture organised here by the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendra. P Parameswaran was one of the senior-most 'pracharaks' of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a former leader of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Dhankhar said that in 1989 when he was an MP and in 1991 when he was a Union Minister, the "atmosphere did not inspire us". "Now our Bharat is brimming with positivity and possibility. It is full of hope and aspirations. All around and all pervasive, we can see an ecosystem of hope and possibility. In the last decade, Bharat has seen an exponential economic upsurge," he said.

He further said that the country was the fifth largest global economy and was "on its way to becoming a USD 4 trillion economy very shortly". "With an average growth of 8 per cent, Bharat happens to be the fastest growing global economy in the last decade," he said. Dhankhar also said that India was no longer labelled as a nation of snake charmers. as it was "charming the entire world with the potential it has". Referring to the growth trajectory of the country, he said that a phenomenal infrastructure growth was taking place in the nation. "People-centric policies and transparent accountable governance has given buoyancy to the ecosystem," he said. In his speech, Dhankhar also alluded to the politically divisive environment in the nation.

He said that the country was faced with "alarmingly worrisome scenarios" on certain aspects as politics have become polarised, vertically divisive and temperatures are always high. He also underscored the significance of dialogue and deliberation while referring to the "disturbances and disruptions" in the Parliament which he termed as "sacrilege of intense enormity". "Parliament must be the role model for the people. It is a platform to transform aspirations of the people into reality. It has to be an impregnable citadel of dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation..

"And what do we see today? Dialogue, deliberation, and others have yielded to disturbance and disruption. Can there be sacrilege of more intense enormity when temples of democracy are ravaged by disruption and disturbance? Our democracy has to survive and the first test is parliamentary functioning," Dhankhar said. He said that the country was facing situations where national interest was relegated and "anti-national narratives took wings". "We are living in very dangerous times. Political intolerance and reckless stance promoting partisan and personal interest at the cost of nationalism needs to be moderated. There is a need for social counseling," he added.