MOSCOW, June 10 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday praised Narendra Modi for becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister, saying that 250 million people had been pulled out of poverty during his rule.
The Times of India said Modi had on Wednesday surpassed Jawaharlal Nehru to become the longest-serving elected prime minister in modern Indian history. Modi has served for 4,399 days, while Nehru served for 4,398 days, the newspaper said.
"During the rule of Modi, 250 million people have been pulled out of poverty," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "This is a very important indicator for India."
"It is a country that has become one of the world's leading economic powers with the fastest rates of economic growth and development. And, most importantly for us, a country with which we have partnership relations," Peskov said.
Peskov said Russian-Indian relations were developing in all areas and expressed hope that Modi would continue to contribute to the development of ties.
(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and David Holmes)
