Congress MP Rahul Gandhi delivered a blunt message in Parliament on Monday, acknowledging that neither his party-led UPA nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which has governed the country for the past decade, has been able to resolve the ongoing jobs crisis.
However, in an unexpected turn, Mr. Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha not only targeted the Prime Minister and his party but also expressed some empathy. He emphasized the need for India to bolster its manufacturing sector but conceded that Modi had “tried to increase (this)” and that his ‘Make in India’ initiative was “good, as a concept.”
“Share of manufacturing fell from 15.3 per cent in 2014 to 12.6 per cent today. This is the lowest in 60 years. I am not blaming the Prime Minister… it would not be fair to say he did not try. ‘Make in India’ was a good idea… but PM Modi failed,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He continued, “Now, even though we have grown (and) grown fast… a universal problem we have faced is that we have not been able to tackle the problem of unemployment. Neither the UPA nor today’s NDA government has given a clear-cut answer to the youth of this country about employment.”
Gandhi noted that “Excellent companies had tried to increase production but failed,” before shifting focus and sharply criticizing the situation, saying, “but now we have handed production to China…”
Holding up his mobile phone as an example, the Leader of the Opposition remarked, “We, as a country, have failed in organising production. We have handed it over to China. This phone is not ‘Made in India’… It is only assembled in India. All the components are made in China.”
“Every time we use a phone or wear a Bangladeshi shirt… we pay a tax to them.”
Turning his attention to the India-China border issue, Mr. Gandhi accused Beijing of “sitting on over 4,000 sq km of our land” and claimed that the Army had contradicted the government’s stance that no land had been surrendered to China. “The Prime Minister denied it but the Army contradicted him… China is sitting on 4,000 sq km of our territory…” he asserted.
#BudgetSession2025 | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “…Our Chief of Army Staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory. This is a fact. The reason China is inside our territory is important…The reason China is sitting inside this country is because… pic.twitter.com/icqd5S365j
— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2025
“Our Chief of Army Staff said Chinese are inside our territory… this is a fact (and) the reason China is inside is because ‘Make in India’ has failed… India is refusing to produce and I’m worried India is going to give up this revolution to the Chinese, again,” he warned.
“If, and when, we fight a war with China, we will be fighting with Chinese motors, batteries, and optics… and we will be buying Chinese motors, Chinese optics and Chinese batteries.”
His comments quickly sparked a reaction from the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded, criticizing the Congress leader for spreading false narratives. “How can you say this… you are speaking lies.”
#BudgetSession2025 | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “The Prime Minister has denied it and the Army has contradicted the Prime Minsiter that China is sitting on 4000 sq km of our territory…”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla says “You will have to present the evidence… pic.twitter.com/u4XswMd2VO
— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2025
He was also reprimanded by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who, this morning, dealt with a fresh round of chaos in the House after opposition MPs protested the Maha Kumbh stampede.
“You will have to present the evidence of what you are saying,” he told Mr Gandhi.
Mr Rijiju also sharply reacted to comments about the January 20 swearing-in ceremony of United States President Donald Trump, to which New Delhi had deputed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. On this, Mr Gandhi mockingly remarked, “We would not send our Foreign Minister to the US to get our Prime Minister invited to the US President’s ‘coronation’.”
The Union Minister responded, “The Leader of Opposition cannot make such a serious and unsubstantial statement. This is about the relation between two countries… and he is making an unverified statement about the invitation of the Prime Minister of our country…”