'He Has His Reasons,...We Can't Be In Position To...": Shashi Tharoor on Rahul Gandhi Supporting Trump's 'Dead Economy' Remark

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday dodged a question on party leader Rahul Gandhi endorsing US President Donald Trump's 'dead economy' remark about India and stated the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha may have had his "own reasons" for saying so.

The remarks came after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday agreed with US President Donald Trump's statement that the Indian economy is "dead" and said he is "glad" that the US President has stated a fact.

Speaking to the reporters in Mumbai, Tharoor said, "I don't want to comment on what my party leader has said. He has his reasons for saying so. My concern is that our relationship with the US, as a strategic and economic partnership, is important for us. We are exporting around 90 billion worth of goods to America. We can't be in a position to lose that or have it diminish significantly."

"We must wish our negotiators strength to get a fair deal for India. We should also be talking to other regions for exporting our goods. Then we could make up for some of what we might lose in the US. We have to support our negotiators," he added.

Rahul Gandhi's Statement

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday agreed with US President Donald Trump's statement on Indian economy said that the whole world knows the Indian economy is "dead" except for the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

"Yes, he (Donald 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. BJP has finished the economy to help Adani," Rahul Gandhi said.

Donald Trump's Statement

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump made a shocking statement on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement of 25 per cent tariffs against India and threatened an additional "penalty" for importing Russian oil.

“India is our friend, but we have… done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high… and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non‑monetary trade barriers of any country," Donald Trump wrote.

Trump was also critical of India’s defence and energy relationship with Russia.

“They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE- ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!," he said in his post.

“INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST," he further said.

In another post on Truth Social, he criticized India's trade relationship with Russia and said, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care."

PM Modi's Response

Amid a row over Trump's shocking claims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is set to become the third biggest economy in the world.

“There is an atmosphere of global instability. All countries are focusing on their individual interests. India is set to become the third biggest economy in the world, and that is why India will have to stay alert as far as its economic interests are concerned,” PM Modi said.

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