Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal speaks at the reception and dinner hosted by the Ambassador of India to the US, on the occasion of the India-US CEO Forum and Commercial Dialogue, in Washington DC, USA.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday (October 4, 2024), pushed back against leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s comments on India’s weak manufacturing position, accusing the politician of politicking abroad, even as he criticized former governments on their economic policy.

On a U.S. visit in early September, Mr. Gandhi had said that it was not acceptable for manufacturing to be “the preserve of the Chinese”. He also said that  if manufacturing was not attended to, countries would have “massive social problems” and polarization in politics, citing India, the U.S. and Europe.

“Well, I can only sympathise for the lack of knowledge about the India manufacturing story, because I don’t know which are those job losses he’s talking about,” Mr Goyal said, during a press briefing held at the Indian Embassy here, at the conclusion of his three day visit to the United States. He also accused Mr Gandhi of “berating” India.

“But we are on a foreign soil. We are not like Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who brings domestic politics to foreign lands,” he said, following which he immediately proceeded to spend several minutes suggesting   how India’s trade deficit with China had ballooned between 2004 and 2014 (  i.e., when there were Congress-led governments at the Centre).

“If that did not kill manufacturing, what did?” he said, adding that India was ‘forced’ to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Treaty and that it “matter of shame” that Chinese goods flooded Indian markets during that time.

Mr Goyal said “certain governments who are responsible for this problem in the first place, don’t even recognize and understand how they have hurt and damaged the India growth story.”

“Anyway, that is for our domestic politics over here, I can only tell you, all of us are unitedly working for the collective good of 140 crore Indians,” he said after suggesting that Congress led-governments had damaged the country’s economy.