A war of words broke out between the treasury benches and the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Friday, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was sent to the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump to bring an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An apparently frustrated BJP MPs, for the first time inside Parliament, led by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, strongly condemned such “unfounded” remarks by Gandhi on the ground that such remarks would dent India’s foreign policy.
Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Rahul Gandhi said that he had difficulty concentrating on what the President had to say; it was a repetitive account of the achievements of the government. He slammed both the UPA and NDA governments for not finding a solution to unemployment: “Neither has given a clear-cut answer to the youth of India about employment.”
Gandhi had pointed to the strong economic issues, saying the country’s manufacturing share in GDP has come down from 15.3 per cent in 2014 to 12.6 per cent today despite the Make in India campaign, arguing that India had virtually outsourced production to China. He warned that dependence on consumption sans a strong production base would create huge deficits and more inequality.
Referring to the Trump inauguration, Gandhi said if India had a strong production system, then U.S. leaders would invite the Prime Minister without the Foreign Minister’s efforts to get an invitation. The treasury benches immediately stormed their feet in protest as Rijiju asked him to account for what he was saying and to name his source.
Dr. Jaishankar later responded to the allegations, terming them untruths for political mileage at the cost of damage to India’s reputation abroad. He explained that he did not discuss any invitation for the Prime Minister during his visit to the U.S. in December 2024.
