BJP, Congress trade barbs as Rahul says economy is dead
'Yes, he (Trump) is right, Everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact... The entire world knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy...,' Gandhi told journalists outside Parliament. Later on, in a post on X , he listed his criteria for his view on the state of the Indian economy.
Trump's overnight comments were made in the context of India and Russia's bilateral trade. After imposing a 25% tariff on Indian exports to the US and an additional penalty for buying Russian oil, Trump said on Truth Social: 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care…' . He also alleged that tariffs in India are 'too high' and 'among the highest in the world'.
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat slammed Gandhi for his comments. 'Contrary to your political career, Rahul Gandhi, India's economy is not dead — it is fully alive and moving forward with strong momentum,' he said.
In his statement, Shekhawat said that during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government India was counted among the 'Fragile Five' countries, and today India is now counted among the 'Robust Five'. 'India's economy is not only setting new standards of stability and growth, but it is also firmly moving towards becoming the world's third-largest economy,' he added.
Sambit Patra, a Lok Sabha lawmaker of the BJP, said on X, 'Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits—publicly endorsing Donald Trump's slur that India is a 'dead economy'. Whose side is he really on?'
'While the world recognises India's aspiration, achievement, and wellbeing, Rahul Gandhi seems intent on running it down. IMF just upgraded India's growth forecast: 6.9% for 2025, the fastest among major economies.. World Bank calls India the 'standout growth story' of the decade. Inflation is at a 6-year low. PMI is at a 17.5-year high. Rahul Gandhi is attempting to chip away at India's collective spirit of its ambition & achievements but he's simply out of sync with a nation chasing its dreams with determination. Shameful!!' Patra said.
While no other senior Congress leader commented on Trump's statement, party leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Indian economy has never really recovered from the twin shocks of a 'bizarre demonetisation' and a fundamentally flawed 'GST' (goods andservices tax) . 'The growth rate of the Indian economy will simply not accelerate with current levels of private corporate investment and current levels of private consumption. The Modi government's own policies are responsible for this twin deficit,' he said
Congress MP Rajiv Shukla, however, took a different position and told the media, 'It is incorrect for Trump to say that the Indian economy is dead.' Shukla added that economic reforms were ushered in by the Narsimha Rao government and the UPA government and the current government has taken more steps. 'In no way, our economy is weak,' he said
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju cited Shukla's comment and said on X, 'Now, a senior Congress leader Rajiv Shukla ji is also speaking in our country's favour! Indian economy will never be dead.'
Calling the Leader of the Opposition , or LoP, an 'LoB' -- 'Leader Opposing Bharat'-- former Union minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur said, 'Rahul Gandhi's job is only to oppose India. Anyone from around the world makes an anti-India statement, Rahul catches hold of it and starts speaking without thinking... The most popular leader in the world is PM Modi. Perhaps this is what Rahul Gandhi cannot digest, because he has only seen the 'lost decade of opportunities'. In Rahul Gandhi's language, the 'dead decade of opportunities'...'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
‘He Likes Swiss Watches!': Trump Shocks Horology With Tariffs
The Trump administration jolted Switzerland with punitive new tariffs. Few seemed to be more taken aback than buyers and sellers of Swiss watches. Oliver R. Müller, a luxury watch consultant based in Switzerland, was indignant at the blow that tariffs will likely inflict on the country's watch industry, which has recently been relying on demand from the US to offset fading sales in China. 'It's another burden that comes on top of many others,' Müller said in an interview. The administration's 39% tariff on all Swiss imports, if passed along from sought-after brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega to distributors in the US, would likely lead to retail-price increases of 12% to 14%, Müller estimated. That would add about $1,000 to the $9,500 price of a stainless steel Rolex Submariner. Swiss watches are a longstanding signal of affluence, and over the years the president has been seen wearing various high-end timepieces, including a Rolex. Members of his family and his administration have also sported Swiss watches in public. For observers, that made the 39% levy all the more vexing. 'On top of it all, he likes Swiss watches!' Müller said. High-end watches have been drawing a growing American fan base in recent years, with obsessive owners showing off their collections on social media. The chain retailer Watches of Switzerland, which has locations in tony shopping areas across the US, said in a statement that it would 'continue to work closely with our brand partners to mitigate any potential impact.' Trump administration officials didn't seem to be focused on watches when they put the tariffs in place, instead citing pharmaceuticals as a driving force in the trade imbalance between the countries. The US has no large luxury-watch making industry of its own. Online watch enthusiasts have long clocked the make and reference numbers of the high-end watches of Trump officials. FBI Director Kash Patel has been spotted wearing a Breitling. Former DOGE czar Elon Musk has a TAG Heuer with the SpaceX logo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who in a previous political life declared that Trump, had he not inherited a fortune from his father, would be 'selling watches in Manhattan' — has worn a Rolex, too. There were already warning signs in the Swiss watch industry before Trump's tariffs. Exports fell 5.6% in June compared with a year earlier, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, a trade group. That was driven by 'significant declines' in sales in the US, as well as Japan and Hong Kong, the group said in a monthly report. Trump lent his name and signature to a line of MAGA-coded timepieces last year, including a $100,000 'Swiss-made' Tourbillon. The makers of the watch, a firm registered as TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, didn't respond to a request for comment sent through an intermediary. The site states that the watches 'are not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.' With assistance from Chris Rovzar.
India Today
15 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump orders firing of labour stats chief after weak July jobs report release
Trump fires Bureau of Labour Statistics Comissioner Erika McEntarfer (Photo:Reuters) Accuses her of faking July jobs data, demands immediate replacement Claims lack evidence, BLS denies data manipulation allegations Concerns rise over data quality amid mass federal layoffs US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) ordered that the commissioner of the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics Erika McEntarfer be fired after data showed weaker-than-expected employment growth in July and massive downward revisions to the prior two months' job counts. McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve in the role in 2023 and was confirmed by the US Senate the following year. It was not immediately clear whether McEntarfer, whom Trump accused of faking the jobs numbers, had been fired. Trump took to his Truth Social account to inform about McEntarfer's firing. Trump announced the firing of McEntarfer over his Truth Social account Trump lambasted McEntarfer and accused her of producing fake job numbers. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," Trump said. There is no proof that supports Trump's accusations about the BLS tampering with data. The BLS is the statistical agency responsible for creating the employment report, which is closely followed, as well as data on consumer and producer prices. The White House did not respond immediately to questions about Trump's post. ACCUSATIONS As per Reuters, Trump acccused McEntarfer of putting out the job numbers before the elections to help Democrats. The order to dismiss McEntarfer comes at a time when the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal government workers have raised concerns about the quality of US economic data, long seen as the gold standard. Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' After his initial post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded two expert committees that worked with the government to produce economic statistics. Lutnick has also floated the idea of stripping out government spending from the gross domestic product report, claiming "governments historically have messed with GDP." ECONOMISTS' OVERVIEW The BLS has already reduced data collection for the consumer price data as well as the producer price report. Economists attributed the sharply slower job growth to Trump's trade and immigration policies. The economy created only 73,000 jobs in July. Data for May and June were revised sharply down to show 258,000 fewer jobs created than had been previously reported. As per a report by CNBC, Laura Ulrich, director of economic research for North America at job site Indeed said that the July figure suggests the job market isn't keeping pace with population growth, and is therefore contracting. With inputs from agencies. US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) ordered that the commissioner of the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics Erika McEntarfer be fired after data showed weaker-than-expected employment growth in July and massive downward revisions to the prior two months' job counts. McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve in the role in 2023 and was confirmed by the US Senate the following year. It was not immediately clear whether McEntarfer, whom Trump accused of faking the jobs numbers, had been fired. Trump took to his Truth Social account to inform about McEntarfer's firing. Trump announced the firing of McEntarfer over his Truth Social account Trump lambasted McEntarfer and accused her of producing fake job numbers. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," Trump said. There is no proof that supports Trump's accusations about the BLS tampering with data. The BLS is the statistical agency responsible for creating the employment report, which is closely followed, as well as data on consumer and producer prices. The White House did not respond immediately to questions about Trump's post. ACCUSATIONS As per Reuters, Trump acccused McEntarfer of putting out the job numbers before the elections to help Democrats. The order to dismiss McEntarfer comes at a time when the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal government workers have raised concerns about the quality of US economic data, long seen as the gold standard. Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' After his initial post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded two expert committees that worked with the government to produce economic statistics. Lutnick has also floated the idea of stripping out government spending from the gross domestic product report, claiming "governments historically have messed with GDP." ECONOMISTS' OVERVIEW The BLS has already reduced data collection for the consumer price data as well as the producer price report. Economists attributed the sharply slower job growth to Trump's trade and immigration policies. The economy created only 73,000 jobs in July. Data for May and June were revised sharply down to show 258,000 fewer jobs created than had been previously reported. As per a report by CNBC, Laura Ulrich, director of economic research for North America at job site Indeed said that the July figure suggests the job market isn't keeping pace with population growth, and is therefore contracting. With inputs from agencies. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Time of India
15 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Trump Cannot Dictate': Putin & His Top Ally Unite Against U.S. Over Ukraine Ultimatum
Praniti Shinde Refuses to Apologise for 'Tamasha' Remark on Op Sindoor After PM Modi Takes Dig Congress MP Praniti Shinde's 'Tamasha' comment on Operation Sindoor sparked outrage across party lines, but she's not backing down. Even as PM Modi condemned her remarks as an insult to the 26 lives lost in the Pahalgam terror attack, Shinde doubled down: 'We'll apologise 1000 times to the victims' families, but never to the BJP's andh-bhakts and trolls.' Shinde further questioned the lack of transparency in Operation Sindoor, asking how many terrorists were neutralised, whether jets were lost, and what India truly gained. The BJP called her stand disrespectful to the armed forces. #operationsindoor #pranitishinde #tamasharemark #congressvspm #pmmodi #pahalgamattack #loksabhadebate #modivscongress #modivspranitishinde #andhbhakts #bjpcongressclash #indianpolitics #breakingnews #trending #mediaoptics #nationalsecurity #operationmahadev #modispeech #bjpvscongress #parliamentdrama #expungedremark #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews 9.8K views | 2 days ago
