Congress MP Shashi Tharoor rejected US President Donald Trump’s comment that India is “a dead economy”. This comes a day after Congress party head Rahul Gandhi endorsed Trump’s statement.
Shashi Tharoor Disagrees With Rahul Gandhi Over Trump’s ‘Dead Economy’ Remarks
Just a day after Rahul Gandhi concurred with Trump’s remarks on the Indian economy, Tharoor differed with the Congress leader, stating, "This is not the case."
NDTV reported that Tharoor told reporters outside Parliament, "This is not the case, and we all know it,” when asked about Trump's comment.
According to ANI, Tharoor, regarding the 25 per cent tariff Trump announced, said, “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 per cent penalty, which will destroy our trade with America... The trade negotiations are underway, and there is a possibility that it may come down. If it doesn't, it will damage our exports, because America is a very big market for us.”
He also noted that if the US continues to be "unreasonable" with its demands, the Indian economy will "have to move elsewhere".
He said, "That is the strength of India; we are not a totally export-dependent economy like China. We have a good and strong domestic market. We must give strong support to our negotiators to find the best deal possible. If a good deal is not possible, we may have to walk away."
Trump slammed Russia and India on Thursday, claiming that the two "can take their dead economies down together" and that he does not care about New Delhi's relations with Moscow.
He wrote on Truth Social, a day after announcing 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India and an additional penalty for buying Russian military equipment and energy, "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."
Hours later, Rahul Gandhi said he agreed with Trump while speaking to reporters.
"He is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact: "Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, told reporters at Parliament.
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Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that Trump is an "unconventional politician" on Friday, further distancing himself from Gandhi's statement.
"India and America are large economies that need each other. We also have people-to-people ties. Flipping comments made by the president of the United States are not going to derail this relationship in the long run," he told NDTV.
"President Trump has made similar comments about many countries and many international personalities, but he's eventually gone on to come to some sort of understanding with them," Chidambaram added.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla also said Trump's statement is "completely wrong".
"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," he told news agency ANI on Thursday.
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