NEW DELHI – A political firestorm has erupted following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Indian economy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launching a sharp attack against the Lok Sabha MP. The controversy began on Thursday when Gandhi endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s “dead economies” jibe, stating that “everybody, except the prime minister and the finance minister,” knows that the country’s economy is in a state of collapse.
BJP National Spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill was among the first to criticize Gandhi’s remarks. In a post on X, Shergill accused Gandhi of confusing India’s economy with Pakistan’s, asserting that the Indian economy is “alive and kicking.” He backed his claim with data points, highlighting India’s position as the world’s fourth-largest economy, the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, the third-largest automobile manufacturer, and having the fourth-strongest stock market. Shergill ended his post with the Hindi proverb, “Pehle Tolo, Phir Bolo,” which translates to “weigh first, then speak.”
The BJP’s IT department head, Amit Malviya, also weighed in, calling Gandhi’s endorsement of Trump’s comments a “shameful” insult to the “aspirations, achievements, and well-being of the Indian people.” Malviya contended that the only thing “truly ‘dead'” is Rahul Gandhi’s “own political credibility and legacy.” He pointed out that despite a global slowdown, India remains the fastest-growing major economy, with both the IMF and the World Bank revising their growth projections upwards.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla from the Congress party, however, offered a contrasting view, telling reporters that Trump’s statement was “completely wrong.” He emphasized that India’s economy is not weak and that Trump is “living in a delusion” if he believes he can finish the country economically. This divergence in opinion within the Congress party itself has not gone unnoticed, with BJP leaders seizing on the opportunity to highlight a perceived lack of unity within the opposition.
The political spat follows President Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on Indian imports and a “penalty” for India’s trade with Russia. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump had said, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”
This is not the first time the BJP has accused Gandhi of siding with a foreign power against India. Last month, the ruling party criticized him for allegedly promoting a “Pakistan narrative” after he claimed that no country supported India following the Pahalgam terror attack. The latest controversy over the economy adds to the ongoing political tensions between the ruling party and the opposition.