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IMF calls India ‘key global growth engine’; BJP revives Rahul Gandhi's ‘dead economy’ remark
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “This is terrible news for Rahul Gandhi, who declared India’s economy ‘dead.’”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described India as a “key growth engine for the world,” pointing to strong domestic consumption and sustained growth momentum, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trained its guns on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his earlier “dead economy” remark.
IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said India continues to play a critical role in supporting global growth. “So what we have seen in India is that India is a key growth engine for the world,” she said, reported news agency ANI.
The IMF’s assessment triggered a swift political response from the BJP, which cited the remarks to counter Gandhi’s past criticism of the Indian economy. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “This is terrible news for Rahul Gandhi, who declared India’s economy ‘dead.’”
“The IMF says otherwise. Far from collapsing, India’s economy is roaring, resilient, growing, and outperforming expectations. Yet again, the pessimism of the Congress leadership stands exposed, contradicted by global institutions and hard data,” Malviya said in a post on X.
What Rahul Gandhi had said
The sharp exchange comes against the backdrop of remarks made last year by US President Donald Trump, who had described India’s economy as “dead” while announcing a 25% tariff and an unspecified penalty on New Delhi.
Trump had said that India and Russia “can take their dead economies down together.”
Rahul Gandhi later backed Trump’s comment, telling reporters in the Parliament complex, “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.”
While Gandhi’s remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, several of his party colleagues and INDIA bloc allies had distanced themselves from that assessment.
