NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticized the Narendra Modi government during the Lok Sabha debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, stating that the ‘Make in India’ initiative had failed and that India’s manufacturing sector has suffered under the current government.
‘Make in India was a good idea, but it failed’
“The Prime Minister proposed the ‘Make in India’ program, I think it was a good idea… The result is right in front of you, manufacturing fell from 15.3% of GDP in 2014 to 12.6% of GDP today, which is the lowest share of manufacturing in 60 years,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He added, “I am not blaming the Prime Minister, it would not be fair to say that he did not try. I could say that the Prime Minister tried, but he failed.”
‘We handed over production to China’
Rahul Gandhi criticized India’s inability to build a strong manufacturing base, saying, “Any country basically organizes two things: consumption and production. The modern way of saying organizing consumption is services, and the modern way of saying organizing production is manufacturing. But there is more to production than just manufacturing. We have, as a country, failed in organizing production.”
He added, “We have excellent companies that try to organize production, but essentially, what we have done is we have handed over the organization of production to the Chinese. This mobile phone, even though we say we make this mobile phone in India, that is not a fact. This phone is not made in India. This phone is assembled in India. All the components of this phone are made in China… we are paying a tax to China.”
‘AI is meaningless without data; China leads by 10 years’
Discussing artificial intelligence, Gandhi remarked, “People talk about AI, but it’s important to understand that AI on its own is absolutely meaningless because AI operates on top of data. Without data, AI means nothing.”
He pointed out that China owns most of the world’s production data while the United States dominates consumption data. “China has at least a 10-year lead on India in this space. China has been working on batteries, robots, motors, and optics for the last 10 years, and we are behind,” he said.
‘India’s banking system must be open and dynamic’
Gandhi criticized the concentration of economic power, stating, “We would ensure that our banking system is not captured by 2-3 companies that basically do not allow you to build a production system.”
He advocated for an open and dynamic banking system that supports small and medium businesses, enabling millions of entrepreneurs to take part in India’s economic growth.
‘Social tensions are rising in India’
The Congress leader also warned of increasing social unrest in the country, linking it to economic distress. “India has to focus completely on production; social tension is on the rise in India,” he said.
‘Same speech every time’
Taking a dig at the President’s address, he remarked, “I must say, I struggled through the President’s address to maintain my attention on what was being said because I had heard pretty much the same President’s address the last time and the time before that. It was the same laundry list of the things that the government has done.”
‘No clear answer on unemployment’
On the issue of employment, Gandhi admitted that neither the Congress-led UPA nor the current NDA government had given a “clear-cut answer to the youth of this country about employment.” He noted that while India has grown economically, unemployment remains a persistent challenge.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks come amid an ongoing political debate over job creation and economic policies, with opposition parties questioning the government’s claims on manufacturing and employment.
‘Foreign policy should prioritize India’s technological growth’
Gandhi criticized India’s approach to global diplomacy, stating that India should leverage its economic and technological strength in foreign relations.
“When we talk to the United States, we would not send our foreign minister to invite our Prime Minister to his coronation… If we had a production system and if we were working on these technologies, the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister,” he remarked.
‘China is sitting on 4000 sq km of our territory’
Gandhi made a strong statement regarding India’s territorial disputes, asserting, “The Prime Minister has denied it and the Army has contradicted the Prime Minister that China is sitting on 4000 sq km of our territory…”
In response, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanded evidence for the claim, stating, “You will have to present the evidence of what you are speaking in the House.”
His speech comes amid a heated political debate over job creation, economic policies, and India’s manufacturing sector, with the opposition questioning the government’s claims on economic progress.
