BJP Kurukshetra MP hits back at Trump over ‘dead economy’ jibe

After US President Donald Trump called the Indian economy “dead” and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi backed the statement, BJP MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal took to social media to refute his claims, stating that India was the fastest-growing among the top five global economies.

Posting on his social media handle on X (formerly Twitter), the Kurukshetra MP said the country’s economy was growing faster than other major countries. He talked about the moon mission, production of iPhones and steel, Digital India and Startup India initiatives, and UPI transactions.

“The economy is dead enough to grow faster than every major economy that is ‘alive’. It has launched moon missions cheaper than Hollywood movies, produced millions of iPhones for India and the world, and produced nearly double the steel compared to the US. India’s UPI handles more transactions than any other digital payment system globally. If this is what a dead economy does — imagine what happens when we are fully awake,” the Kurukshetra MP wrote.

In another statement, the MP compared the growth of the top five largest economies, stating that while India’s economy growth rate was 6.5 per cent, China stood at 5 per cent, the US at 2.8 per cent, Japan at 0.2 per cent and Germany at -0.2 per cent.

He said, “Our strength lies in our people. India today is home to the third largest start-up ecosystem — 100-plus unicorn start-ups (privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more) and counting. We are producing minds that are leading some of the world’s most respected organisations — Google, Microsoft, Adobe and World Bank.”

The Kurukshetra MP said he believed that “real” partners found ways to move forward, together. He said: “Like Mr Trump, I am also an industrialist who stepped into public life. Here, in India, we believe that leadership is about listening, collaborating, and building together. We believe in ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’: the world is one family. While they may not always be on the same page, real partners invariably find ways to move forward, together.”

Jindal, while talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047, said, “We are not just building an economy, we are building a Viksit Bharat — led by the power of people, guided by the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.”