Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent support for US President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of the Indian economy has triggered a wave of disagreement—not just from the ruling BJP, but from within his own party and its allies.
Following Trump's remark that India and Russia would "take their dead economies down together," Gandhi supported the statement, employing it as a new platform to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies.
In Parliament, he said, "He is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact."
Gandhi blamed the Modi government for the supposed economic slowdown, attributing it to policies like demonetisation and a botched GST roll-out.
He contended that efforts like "Assemble in India" were unsuccessful, micro and small businesses were destroyed, and farmers were languishing under the present administration.
Not all party members, however, see things his way.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has come under internal fire for his remarks on other national issues recently, played more measured. He pointed out that while India is in the midst of difficult trade talks with the United States, the nation is hardly economically dependent on any one country. "If we can't compete in America, we may have to diversify our markets outside of America.". We are not out of options," Tharoor asserted. He pointed to India's healthy domestic market and stated, "If a good deal is not possible, we may have to walk away."
Rajiv Shukla, another senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, outright rejected Trump's statement. "Our economic situation is not weak at all. If anyone says that they can economically defeat us, it's probably out of a misunderstanding. Trump is in a state of delusion," he said to ANI. Speaking on an unrelated point later, he said to NDTV, "Their oil agreement with Pakistan is none of our business. No one can tell us whom we can or cannot do trade with."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and outspoken Opposition leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, too, vociferously denounced Trump's assertion. "To call it a dead economy can be only from a place of arrogance or ignorance," she posted on X (formerly Twitter). While admitting that India indeed has economic challenges, she emphasized those do not constitute a collapse. "Our economic issues do not translate to a dead economy," she added, referring to Trump's comment as a negotiating tactic.
The incendiary remark by President Trump was made just one day after he had proclaimed a tariff of 25% for Indian imports. In a posting on his platform Truth Social, he said: "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world.". Similarly, Russia and America do hardly any trade with each other. Let us keep it that way."
In the meantime, BJP latched onto Rahul Gandhi's comments, blaming him for compromising national interests.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya stated Gandhi had shamed himself by agreeing with Trump. "The only thing actually 'dead' here is Rahul Gandhi's own political credibility and legacy," he added, mentioning that "India remains the world's fastest-growing major economy, with the IMF and World Bank revising growth projections upwards."
“This is not a dead economy. This is a surging, resilient India,” Malviya said, questioning Gandhi’s motives. “Who is Rahul Gandhi really speaking for? Why does he repeat foreign propaganda that undermines India?”
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai contrasted Gandhi’s remarks with those of Tharoor, implying the Congress is divided. “One spoke for India's interest, and the other spoke in a tone that would please his offshore masters,” he said. “When the world acknowledges India as the only bright spot on an otherwise dark horizon, here is the Leader of the Opposition who feels otherwise.”
“LoP Thiru Rahul Gandhi avl continues to wear ignorance like a badge of honour,” Annamalai concluded, taking a jibe at what he sees as Gandhi’s consistent misreading of India’s global standing.
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