Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has ignited a political row following comments he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event in Germany. Speaking at the Hertie School in Berlin, Gandhi stated that the Prime Minister’s vision for India would ultimately not succeed, remarks that have drawn strong reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Responding to Gandhi’s comments, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress leader of promoting a narrative that undermines India’s stability and democratic institutions. In a post on social media platform X, Bhandari alleged that Gandhi and the Congress were seeking to portray India as unstable on international platforms.
Bhandari claimed that the Congress had shifted from opposing the government domestically to raising concerns abroad, calling it an attempt to fuel unrest and chaos in Indian democracy. He further accused the party of being hostile to India’s development and progress.
Union Minister of State Shobha Karandjale also criticised Gandhi for repeatedly making remarks about India during foreign visits. She questioned his intent, stating that such statements damage the country’s image and do not reflect responsible opposition leadership. Karandjale further pointed out that political debates within Congress-ruled states, including Karnataka, remain focused on internal power struggles rather than development.
The BJP’s reaction followed Gandhi’s broader criticism of the ruling party, in which he accused the government of weakening democratic institutions. Gandhi alleged that key agencies and institutions had been systematically taken over, claiming that enforcement bodies were being selectively used against political opponents.
According to Gandhi, the opposition’s fight is not against a single political party but against what he described as the concentration of power within India’s institutional framework. He added that the opposition would work towards building a strong and effective resistance to safeguard democratic values.
Rahul Gandhi is currently on a five-day visit to Germany. His latest remarks come shortly after comments he made in Munich regarding India’s manufacturing sector. During a visit to the BMW World museum on December 17, Gandhi said that manufacturing, which he described as the backbone of strong economies, was declining in India and needed urgent attention to generate large-scale employment.
The BJP dismissed these claims, calling them misleading. Pradeep Bhandari cited government data to counter Gandhi’s assertions, highlighting significant growth in electronics manufacturing, exports, and automobile production over the past decades as evidence of India’s economic progress.