NEW DELHI: Congress leader and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday renewed his “dead economy” attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the impact of steep US tariffs on India’s textile sector. He held him accountable, alleging official inaction amid job losses and growing uncertainty for exporters.“50% US tariffs and uncertainty are badly hurting India’s textile exporters. Job losses, factory shutdowns and reduced orders are a reality of our ‘Dead Economy’,” Gandhi wrote in a post on X. Targeting PM Modi, Gandhi accused the government of failing to respond to the crisis despite the scale of the impact. “Mr Modi has offered no relief or even spoken about tariffs, even though more than 4.5 crore jobs and lakhs of businesses are at stake. Modi ji, you are accountable; please direct your attention to this matter!,” the leader of opposition further wrote. Earlier, echoing US President Donald Trump’s sharp criticism of India’s economy, Gandhi had said the Indian economy was “dead” and blamed the PM Modi government’s policies for the situation.He accused the Centre of damaging growth through decisions such as demonetisation, a flawed GST rollout and what he termed the collapse of MSMEs and job creation, remarks that had drawn strong political reactions.In a post on X last year, Gandhi said, “Economy is dead. Modi killed it”. He also listed the key reasons behind the decline: the “Adani-Modi partnership,” demonetisation, a flawed GST, a failed “Assemble in India” initiative, the wiping out of MSMEs, and distress in the farming sector.Speaking to reporters at the time, Gandhi claimed that the economic slowdown was evident to everyone except the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “Everybody knows this except PM Modi and the Finance Minister. It is a dead economy. I am glad that the US President has stated facts,” he said, alleging that government policies had destroyed jobs and hurt small businesses.Trump had earlier taken a swipe at India and Russia on his Truth Social platform. He wrote, “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.”
BJP hits back
Reacting to Gandhi’s claims, the BJP rejected allegations of job losses and factory shutdowns. Union minister Giriraj Singh said that the industry was expanding, not declining and accused the Congress leader of spreading misinformation.“The textile and garment industries have not shut down; the only shutdown is in the minds of those spreading negativity about India. From April to December 2024, exports were Rs 95,000 crore, and from April to December 2025, they rose to Rs 1,02,000 crore. So, which shutdown are they talking about? Which exports have fallen? Those spreading confusion are misleading people. During the previous government, stitching machines, whether for garments or leather products, were not manufactured in India, and 40 lakh machines had to be imported... In the fabric-to-garment sector, one machine provides employment to 1.7 people. So with 2 crore machines today, at least 3 crore people are employed in this sector alone. Over the past 11 years, we have created employment for 5 crore people in the textile sector. This is not a shutdown. Visit industrial hubs in Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and across the country, and you will see investments worth Rs 60,000 crore. Stop spreading false claims about a shutdown, the industry is thriving; it is only his (Rahul Gandhi) mindset that is in a shutdown,” Singh said.
