Rahul Gandhi Backs Trump’s ‘Dead’ Economy Claim — Even As IMF Says India To Remain Fastest‑Growing Economy In 2025 And 2026

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (30 July) endorsed former US President Donald Trump’s recent critique of India’s economic performance, attributing it to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government, The Times of India reported.

‘The Economy is Dead’: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi told reporters that Trump was “only stating facts” when he described India and Russia as having “dead economies.”

“Everybody knows this except PM Modi and the Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. The economy is dead, and BJP ended it to help Adani,” he alleged.

Earlier, hitting out at India and Russia, Trump said he does not care about New Delhi's dealings with Moscow and that the two "can take their dead economies down together".

"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," he said in a post on Truth Social.

Gandhi Lists Causes for Economic Decline

Rahul in a post on X (Formerly known as Twitter) cited five major factors behind the alleged slowdown: the alleged nexus between Modi and Adani, demonetisation, flawed GST implementation, failure of the ‘Assemble in India’ initiative, and neglect of MSMEs and farmers.

He claimed these actions have led to widespread youth unemployment and a loss of investor confidence.

This comes as IMF had predicted that India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy with a 6.4 per cent growth rate in 2025 and 2026, with both numbers revised slightly upward.

Trump Announces Tariffs on Indian Imports

Trump’s remarks came in the wake of stalled trade talks between India and the US.

He declared a 25 per cent tariff on all Indian imports from 1 August, asserting that India imposes high tariffs while offering minimal trade value to the United States.

Also Read : Explained: What Trump’s Proposed 25 Per Cent Tariff On Indian Goods Means For Markets, Trade Talks And Investors