In a sharp political attack, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday targeted Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over his past description of India as a "dead economy." Poonawalla labeled Gandhi a "leader of propaganda" following recent data confirming India has surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy.
Poonawalla's Scathing Critique
Speaking to ANI, Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress leader of persistently spreading what he termed "malicious propaganda" against the nation. He asserted that the latest economic indicators have thoroughly exposed Gandhi's claims.
"Rahul Gandhi, who is an expert at making anti-India statements, goes to Berlin and spreads malicious propaganda against India, sometimes against the army, sometimes against constitutional institutions, against Sanatan and economic power, has now faced reality today," Poonawalla stated.
He further emphasized, "Rahul Gandhi used to say that India's economy is dead, India's economy and production are dead; this is a leader of propaganda, not a leader of opposition."
India's Economic Ascent and Political Rebuttal
Poonawalla highlighted India's dramatic economic progress over the last decade. "India's economy has now reached the fourth position, while in Manmohan Singh's era, it was at the 11th position. Today, we have overtaken Japan. In the next two and a half to three years, we will become the third-largest economy," he claimed.
He concluded with a direct admonition: "He should stop defaming India and spreading malicious propaganda against India."
This rebuttal references Rahul Gandhi's remarks from July 2025, where he agreed with former US President Donald Trump's characterization of India's economy as "dead." Gandhi had said, "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."
Robust GDP Data and Opposition Skepticism
The Centre, in a recent press release, announced that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has exceeded USD 4.18 trillion, officially securing the fourth rank globally. The government expressed confidence that India will climb further in the economic rankings in the coming years.
The release provided detailed growth figures, noting that India's real GDP expanded by 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26, marking a six-quarter high. This followed growth of 7.8 per cent in Q1 of FY 2025-26 and 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY 2024-25, indicating resilient domestic demand amidst global trade challenges.
However, the data has faced skepticism from the opposition. Congress leader Rashid Alvi questioned the credibility of the GDP figures, alleging methodological changes. "It is completely wrong and baseless. Even today, the GDP data that is provided shows that we are the fourth or fifth largest economy in the world. The government has completely changed the way GDP is calculated. GDP is calculated worldwide on a production basis, but they have switched to a consumer basis," Alvi alleged.
These comments come amid ongoing debate on India's national accounts data, particularly after the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) annual review assigned it a Grade 'C'. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed this grading to the continued use of the 2011-12 base year for calculations. She added that a revised base year of 2022-23 would be adopted starting next year.
