shashi-tharoor-differs-with-rahul-gandhi-on-trump-remarks

Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor on Friday publicly rejected US President Donald Trump's characterisation of India as having a 'dead economy,' a day after his fellow party member, Rahul Gandhi, had appeared to endorse the statement.

When questioned by reporters outside Parliament, Tharoor stated, "This is not the case, and we all know it." His comments directly contrasted with those made by Rahul Gandhi, who had told the press on Thursday, "He is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact."

Trump's controversial remarks were made on his social media platform, Truth Social. He had announced new tariffs on Indian goods and a penalty for India's purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. In his post, 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. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way."

 

#WATCH | Delhi: On the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor says, "The arrest of nuns is grave injustice. They have not done anything against the law. They were just taking some tribal girls to the city for employment.… pic.twitter.com/EV02otczWG

— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

The differing views within the Congress party extended to other leaders. On Friday, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also distanced himself from Gandhi's remarks. While speaking to national media, Chidambaram described Trump as an "unconventional politician" and said, "India and America are large economies that need each other. We also have people-to-people ties. 

Flipping comments made by the president of the United States are not going to derail this relationship in the long run." He added that Trump has "made similar comments about many countries and many international personalities, but he's eventually gone on to come to some sort of understanding with them."

Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla, another Congress leader, had also previously spoken out against Trump's statement. On Thursday, he told mediapersons that Trump's claim was "completely wrong." Shukla asserted, "Our economic condition is not at all weak. If someone claims they can finish us economically, it's likely due to a misunderstanding. Trump is living in a delusion."

 

Also Read: Rahul backs Trump’s ‘dead economy’ remark, says he spoke facts