NEW DELHI: Claiming that the Narendra Modi government had performed far better on the economic front than UPA, BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday asked party leaders to challenge former finance minister P Chidambaram and others from opposition parties for an open debate on the government's economic policies, based on facts and figures."Party leaders should challenge Chidambaram & Co with facts and ask them to come for a debate on the economic policies of the government," defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said quoting Shah's presidential address on the inaugural day of the BJP national executive meet at Dr Ambedkar International Centre here."When PM Narendra Modi assumed office, Indian economy was ninth in the world but it has reached sixth position now (surpassing France) and soon we shall be fifth biggest economy of the world," Shah said. He said in the first quarter this fiscal, GDP growth stood at 8.2%, one of the highest in the world.Alleging that Congress is hell-bent on "Breaking India" in contrast with the Modi government's policy of "Making India", Shah referred to a series of decisions taken by the government towards empowerment of the poor and underprivileged and asked party leaders to counter the opposition bid to "negatively paint the current economic scenario" in the country.In the midst of hike in fuel prices which have given a handle to the rivals, Shah's firm message to the party leaders and cadres was to not run away from the opposition challenge, but counter every criticism with facts on the ground.Shah took a dig at Congress leader and former PM Manmohan Singh , who had recently said that the Modi government had failed on all fronts, saying that while Singh follows his party, Modi leads his.Pointing out that the party is in power in 19 states covering around 70% of the country's geographical area, the BJP president asked party leaders not to be complacent and work hard to retain people's faith. He mentioned MSP price hike, Ayushman Bharat and several other schemes that the government had taken for the welfare of neglected sections and farmers.A resolution was passed at the meeting to pay homage to founder president and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away last month."We have lost a visionary statesman who led this country by example and understood the importance of good governance for the foundation of value-based politics. Atalji created a credible political alternative to satisfy the aspirations of the public. This became possible only because of his dedication and hard work," the resolution said.The national executive meet has been dedicated to the memory of the former PM and the slogan "Sadaiv Atal", phrased in his memory, could be seen everywhere at the venue.