Rahul Gandhi agrees with Trump calling India 'dead economy'; allies differ

Rahul Gandhi echoes Donald Trump's 'dead economy' remark for India, but Congress leaders and INDIA bloc allies reject the claim, citing strong economic data

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sparked a political row by echoing US President Donald Trump’s controversial remark calling the Indian economy “dead” -- a statement that has drawn disapproval not just from the ruling BJP, but also from his own party colleagues and opposition allies.

 

Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, slammed India over high tariffs and its close trade ties with Russia. “India and Russia can take their dead economies down together,” he said, announcing a 25 per cent tariff hike on Indian imports. 

 

The comment was unexpectedly endorsed by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “He is right… Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy,” the Congress MP was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

 

However, his remarks have seemingly not gone down well within the Congress party or the broader opposition coalition, the INDIA bloc, where several leaders have distanced themselves from both Trump’s claim and Gandhi’s statement.

Congress’ Rajeev Shukla rebukes Trump

 

Senior Congress MP Rajeev Shukla dismissed Trump’s comments outright, defending India’s economic trajectory over the decades. “Trump saying that the economies of India and Russia are dead is wrong. The Indian economy is not dead,” Shukla said, crediting a series of governments—from Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh to Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- for laying the foundation of India’s economic reforms. “Our economic condition is not at all weak,” he added.

 

Shukla also criticised Trump’s trade policies, saying, “Every nation has the right to trade with whom it wants. Restricting them and attacking Brics is not right. Trump is living in a delusion.”

 

Similarly, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, a key INDIA bloc leader, took to social media to counter the “dead economy” label. “Not that one needs to say it -- there’s enough legitimate data to know that the Indian economy is in the top 5 of the world and one of the fastest growing economies,” she wrote. “Calling it a dead economy can only come from a position of arrogance or ignorance.”

Trump’s outburst triggers diplomatic, political fallout

 

Trump’s attack came as part of a broader criticism of India’s defence and energy ties with Russia. “India has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia,” he said, accusing New Delhi of maintaining some of the “highest tariffs in the world” and “obnoxious” trade barriers. 

 

He also announced a sharp 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports to the US, which the Indian government said it is “studying carefully”. The Commerce Ministry, in a statement, said India remains committed to negotiating a fair and balanced trade deal, and will take all necessary steps to protect its farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs.

India’s economic numbers tell a different story

 

Despite the political heat, data points to a very different picture than Trump’s claim. As of 2025, India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy with a GDP of $4.19 trillion. It is projected to be the third-largest by 2030.

 

Even trade with Russia, which Trump criticised, has grown significantly -- from $10.1 billion pre-pandemic to $68.7 billion in FY25, largely due to crude oil, fertilisers, and metal imports.

 

However, brokerage firms like Nomura and Barclays warn that Trump’s new tariffs could shave off 20–30 basis points from India’s GDP growth in 2025–26.