A recent statement by US President Donald Trump, labeling India's economy as 'dead,' has triggered a significant political divide within India's opposition and provided the ruling BJP with a strong opportunity to counter their attacks. The controversy began when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi supported Trump's remark, while his own party members and allies took a contrary stance, defending the Indian economy.
On the heels of imposing a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to criticise India and Russia. "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he wrote. He further criticised India's tariffs as 'among the highest in the world' and stated that the US does 'very little business with India.' He concluded by expressing his desire for minimal trade with Russia as well.
Reacting to Trump's comments, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, told reporters that he agreed with the US President. "He is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister," Gandhi said, adding that he was 'glad that President Trump has stated a fact.' He went on to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 'killing' the economy, citing demonetisation and a 'flawed' Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the primary reasons. Gandhi also claimed that the 'Assemble in India' initiative had failed, MSMEs were 'wiped out,' and farmers were 'crushed.'
However, Gandhi's stance was not shared by all within his party or the broader opposition. Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor adopted a different perspective. Acknowledging that trade talks between the US and India are "challenging," Tharoor emphasized India's economic strength.
"We have ongoing negotiations with the EU, we already concluded a deal with the UK, and we are talking with other countries also," he noted. He suggested that if the US became 'completely unreasonable' with its demands, India should 'move elsewhere' and diversify its markets. Tharoor underscored that India's strong domestic market provides a crucial buffer, unlike export-dependent economies such as China. He concluded by asserting that India's negotiators should be prepared to 'walk away' if a favourable deal is not possible.
Rajiv Shukla, another senior Congress leader and a Rajya Sabha MP, outrightly rejected Trump's statement. Speaking to mediapersons, he stated, "Our economic condition is not at all weak... Trump is living in a delusion." He later said that the US's oil deal with Pakistan was of no concern to India and that "no country can dictate who we can or cannot do business with."
The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and a prominent opposition figure, Priyanka Chaturvedi, also criticised Trump's remarks. On the social media platform X, she stated that there is ample data to show that India is among the world's top five economies. She called Trump's claim of a 'dead economy' a sign of 'arrogance or ignorance.' In a follow-up post, Chaturvedi acknowledged that while India has economic challenges and needs to improve per capita income, these issues 'do not equate to a dead economy.' She suggested that Trump's statement was a 'tactic to close a deal.'
The BJP swiftly capitalised on the division within the opposition. Senior party leader Amit Malviya accused Rahul Gandhi of hitting a 'new low' by echoing Trump's 'dead economy' jibe, calling it a 'shameful insult to the aspirations, achievements, and well-being of the Indian people.' Malviya asserted that the only thing 'dead' was Gandhi's 'political credibility.' He highlighted that even amidst a global slowdown, India remains the world's fastest-growing major economy, with institutions like the IMF and World Bank revising growth projections upward. "This is not a dead economy. This is a surging, resilient India," he stated, questioning who Gandhi was truly speaking for.
BJP leader K Annamalai further contrasted the two Congress leaders, Shashi Tharoor and Rahul Gandhi, on the issue. He commented that one spoke for 'India's Interest,' while the other's tone was seemingly designed to 'please his offshore masters.' Annamalai criticised Gandhi for being 'blind to India's rise' and "ever eager to echo foreign voices that undermine it," while the world acknowledges India as a "bright spot on an otherwise dark horizon."
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