Rahul Gandhi's Manufacturing Decline Claims Contested by BJP with Growth Statistics

Rahul Gandhi's recent comments about Indian manufacturing have ignited controversy with the BJP.

New Delhi:

While visiting Munich, Germany, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sparked another controversy following his comments about manufacturing in India. After touring a BMW automobile plant, Gandhi shared a video on social media expressing concerns about India's manufacturing sector.

"Manufacturing is the backbone of strong economies. Sadly, in India, manufacturing is declining. For us to accelerate growth, we need to produce more -- build meaningful manufacturing ecosystems, and create high-quality jobs at scale," Gandhi stated in the Instagram video.

The comments quickly drew criticism from the BJP, which had been anticipating controversial statements during his international tour.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari dismissed Gandhi's claims as "fake news" and countered with statistics on social media platform X. Bhandari highlighted a 495 percent growth in total electronics manufacturing over the past decade and a 760 percent increase in exports.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rahul Gandhi (@rahulgandhi)

Regarding automobile production, Bhandari stated that indigenous manufacturing has increased 14-fold since 1991. "Vehicle production 1991: 2 million units; 2024: 28 million units +1,300 per cent increase (14x growth)," his post detailed.

Bhandari further outlined India's ambitious manufacturing targets: "50 million vehicles by 2030, 200 million vehicles by 2047, and becoming among the Top-2 auto manufacturers globally. From import dependence to export dominance --this is manufacturing-led growth backed by data, not slogans. Rahul Gandhi may deny reality, but factories, exports, and numbers don't lie. Under PM Modi, India's growth story is real -- and accelerating."

Despite his criticisms, Gandhi did acknowledge Indian engineering achievements, noting: "A highlight was seeing TVS's 450cc motorcycle, developed in partnership with BMW. Proud moment to see Indian engineering on display".

This is not the first time Gandhi's overseas remarks about India have caused political uproar. During his 2023 Cambridge visit, he claimed that "democracy in India is under attack" while discussing his Bharat Jodo Yatra experiences.

"I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy -- Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around -- all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy," he had stated then.

In a previous Cambridge visit, Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "creating a vision of India that is not inclusive of all parts of the country's population, which is unfair and goes against the idea of India".