Rahul Gandhi Criticises Both UPA, NDA For Unemployment In India: 'Make In India A Good Idea, But...'

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi delivered a home truth in Parliament on Monday, stating that neither the UPA led by his party nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which has governed the country for the past decade, have managed to resolve the unemployment issue.

However, in an unexpected twist, Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha, while critical of the Prime Minister and his party, also included some praise. He emphasised the importance of improving India's manufacturing sector and acknowledged that Modi had "tried to increase (this)" and that his flagship 'Make in India' initiative was "good, as a concept."

"Share of manufacturing fell from 15.3 per cent in 2014 to 12.6 per cent today. This is the lowest in 60 years. I am not blaming the Prime Minister... it wouldn't be fair to say he didn't try. 'Make in India' was a good idea... but PM Modi failed," Rahul Gandhi said.

"Even though we've grown (and) grown fast... a universal problem we face is that we haven't been able to tackle the issue of unemployment. Neither the UPA nor the current NDA government has provided a clear answer to the youth of this country about employment."

"Excellent companies attempted to increase production but failed," Gandhi added, before shifting gears and launching a series of jabs: "But now we have handed production to China..."

Holding up his mobile phone as an example, the Leader of the Opposition stated, "We, as a country, have failed in organising production. We have handed it over to China. This phone is not 'Made in India'... it is only assembled in India. All the components are made in China."

"Every time we use a phone or wear a Bangladeshi shirt... we pay a tax to them."

Rahul Gandhi then shifted focus to the India-China border dispute, claiming that Beijing is now "sitting on over 4,000 sq km of our land."

His statement quickly drew a rebuttal from the government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the Congress leader for spreading falsehoods, saying, "How can you say this... you are speaking lies."

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also intervened, urging Gandhi to provide evidence for his claim.

"You will have to present the evidence of what you are saying," Birla told him.

Rijiju further responded to Gandhi's comments regarding the January 20 swearing-in of US President Donald Trump, where India had sent External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Gandhi had sarcastically remarked, "We would not send our Foreign Minister to the US to get our Prime Minister invited to the US President's 'coronation'."

Rijiju countered, "The Leader of the Opposition cannot make such a serious and unfounded statement. This is about the relationship between two countries, and he is making an unverified statement about the invitation of the Prime Minister of our country."