New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to match up with the UPA's GDP rate in its fifth year and said that back series calculation of GDP has proved that the best years of economic growth were the UPA years 2004-2014.

Quoting figures of the recently released Ministry of Statistics' data, Chidambaram said: "Truth has triumphed. The back series calculation of GDP has proved that the best years of economic growth were the UPA years 2004-2014."

"The average growth rate under four governments since 1999 were-- NDA I - 5.68 per cent, UPA I - 8.36 per cent UPA II - 7.68 per cent and NDA II - 7.35 per cent (four years)," Chidambaram tweeted.

"I wish the Modi government well in its fifth year. It can never catch up with UPA I, but I wish it catches up with UPA II," he added.

Chidambaram said that the UPA governments delivered the best ever decadal growth and lifted 140 million people out of poverty and thanked the people for the opportunity to serve them for 10 years.