Rahul Gandhi endorses Trump’s ‘dead economy’ remark; Congress leaders differ

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s endorsement of US President Donald Trump’s remarks on the Indian economy seems to have backfired, with Congress leaders Rajeev Shukla and Shashi Tharoor offering contrasting views.

The US President, who slapped India with 25 per cent tariffs and an unspecified penalty for Russia trade, hit out at India and Russia, saying he doesn’t care what India does with Russia, and both countries can take their dead economies down together.

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“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,” he said in a post on his Truth Social.

Reacting to his remarks, Rahul Gandhi said that what Trump said was right and everyone else, except Prime Minister Narendra Modi, knew about it. “He is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact,” he told reporters.

The Congress leader further added: “PM Modi works only for one person – Adani… The Government has destroyed our economic, defence, and foreign policy. They are running this country into the ground.”

However, ongress MP Rajeev Shukla disagreed with Rahul Gandhi’s stance, calling President Trump’s assessment of the Indian economy “wrong”.

“Trump saying that the economies of India and Russia are dead is wrong. The Indian economy is not dead,” Shukla asserted.

He further hailed the economic reforms carried out by the PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh governments, also noting the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government’s contribution in taking those reforms forward.

“Economic reforms were made when PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh were there. Atal Bihari Vajpayee took those reforms forward. Manmohan Singh strengthened it in the 10 years,” he said.

Shukla also praised the Modi government and stated, “The current government has also worked on it.”

“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. Imposing tariffs is wrong. Every nation has the right to trade with the nation it wants. Restricting them, speaking against the BRICS, speaking against trade and import from Russia, this is not right…,” he added.

Another Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor, who is currently at loggerheads with the party leadership, also offered contrasting views on Trump’s remarks.

“It’s a very serious matter for us. 25, plus an unspecified penalty for our buying oil and gas from Russia, it could take it up to 35-45. There’s even talk of a 100% penalty, which will destroy our trade with America. The trade negotiations are still going on, and there is a possibility that this may come down. If it doesn’t, it will damage our exports, because America is a very big market for us,” he said.

He continued, “On the other hand, if their demands are completely unreasonable, our negotiators have every right to resist… America has to understand our needs as well. Our tariffs on America are not that unreasonable. It’s about 17% average. American goods are not priced competitively enough to sell in the Indian market.”