- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor declined to comment on Rahul Gandhi endorsing Trump's remark on India's economy
- Shashi Tharoor emphasised the importance of US-India strategic and economic relations
- Shashi Tharoor urged support for Indian negotiators to secure a fair trade deal with the US
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday refused to comment on party leader Rahul Gandhi's endorsing US President Donald Trump's 'dead economy' remark about India and said the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha may have had his "own reasons" for saying so.
The remarks came after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday agreed with Mr Trump's statement that the Indian economy is "dead" and said he is "glad" that the US President has stated a fact.
Speaking to the mediapersons, Mr Tharoor said, "I don't want to comment on what my party leader has said. He has his reasons for saying so. My concern is that our relationship with the US, as a strategic and economic partnership, is important for us. We are exporting around 90 billion worth of goods to America. We can't be in a position to lose that or have it diminish significantly."
"We must wish our negotiators strength to get a fair deal for India. We should also be talking to other regions for exporting our goods. Then we could make up for some of what we might lose in the US. We have to support our negotiators," he added.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Mr Gandhi said that the whole world knows the Indian economy is "dead" except for the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
"Yes, he is right. Everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact. The entire world knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy," Mr Gandhi said.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump made a shocking statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, after the announcement of 25 per cent tariffs against India and threatened an additional "penalty" for importing Russian oil.
