We assemble, China profits: Rahul Gandhi's stark truth on 'Make In India'
Suggesting that the government's 'Make in India' initiative was a failure, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said manufacturing was at record lows and unemployment had surged in the country.Interacting with two technicians in Delhi's Nehru Place, a popular electronics market, Gandhi said most products like mobiles were being "assembled in India" and not being built here. He posted a video of his interaction with Shivam and Saif on X. advertisement'WE IMPORT, WE DON'T BUILD'The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha suggested that electronic parts were being imported and assembled in India, benefitting China in the process.
"Make in India promised a factory boom. So why is manufacturing at record lows, youth unemployment at record highs, and why have imports from China more than doubled? The truth is stark: we assemble, we import, but we don't build. China profits," the Raebareli MP pointed out.'Make in India' is PM Modi's pet project to promote the country as a preferred global manufacturing destination.However, Gandhi claimed that since 2014, manufacturing has fallen to 14% of the economy. "PM Modi has mastered the art of slogans, not solutions... With no new ideas, Modi has surrendered," Rahul said.'INDIA NEEDS TO GET INTO MANUFACTURING'He also highlighted that employment would be generated from "made in India" and not from "assembled in". "Assemble as many iPhones as you want, all you are doing is giving money to the big oligopolies of India," he said.advertisementApple began assembling iPhones in India in 2017. There are currently three assembly plants in India - two in Tamil Nadu, and one in Karnataka.Elaborating on his claim, Gandhi further said, "People think made in India and assembled in India are the same. But they are different. Until India gets itself into manufacturing, it will be left behind. China has complete control over the mobile and laptop manufacturing industry."The Congress leader underscored the need for "honest reforms" and financial support to empower the country's "lakhs of producers"."India needs a fundamental shift - one that empowers lakhs of producers through honest reforms and financial support. We must stop being a market for others. If we don't build here, we'll keep buying from those who do. The clock is ticking," he tweeted. Must Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
People will not tolerate if you belittle opposition, Kharge tells PM Modi
Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (June 23, 2025) slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "trivialising" the opposition and criticised his absence from the all-party meetings convened after the Pahalgam terror attack. Mr. Kharge said the Prime Minister's absence reflects his scant respect for the opposition. Addressing a public gathering here, Mr. Kharge remarked that the country was going through a difficult phase. "Recently, Pakistani terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam. In response, the Indian armed forces carried out strikes on terror facilities inside Pakistan and eliminated the terrorists," he said. He alleged that while the entire nation and the armed forces worked in unison to defend the country, some individuals tried to take personal credit. "Had they served in the Army as a captain, colonel, or lieutenant colonel, we would have appreciated them for doing a great job and fighting for the country. But that is not the case," Mr. Kharge said, without directly naming anyone. Mr. Kharge was in Raichur along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress ministers, and MLAs, where he laid the foundation stone for several projects and presided over the naming ceremony of Raichur University. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said Congress was the first to demand an all-party meeting on the Pahalgam terror strike. "When the meetings were convened twice, the prime minister failed to attend on both occasions. I want to ask him why he did not attend". He noted that leaders from Kanyakumari to Kashmir had left behind important engagements to attend the meeting, yet the PM chose not to attend despite being in the country. "Instead, he was busy campaigning for the Bihar elections. What does that mean? While the country and soldiers were fighting on one side, the prime minister chose to campaign on the other, after inviting us to an all-party meeting. This is inappropriate," Kharge said. He warned that such an attitude does not bode well. "If you try to belittle the opposition, the leaders, people, and especially the youth of this country will not tolerate it," Kharge cautioned. Mr. Kharge also took a dig at the PM for his failure to stop the USA from imposing retaliatory taxes. "Modi was shouting the slogan 'Phir Ek Baar Trump Sarkar' (during the US elections). This great man said this in America, but Trump imposed hefty taxes on Indian goods. The PM did not speak a word on it," Mr. Kharge said. The Congress chief reminded the prime minister that Iran had always supported India as the country imports 50% of its fuel requirement from there. "Now there is an armed conflict going on between Iran and Israel. We should have made attempts to stop it," the veteran Congress leader said. Mr. Kharge said Modi's only loud slogan is that he is going to be the "Vishwa Guru". "Whether you are Vishwa Guru or Guru at Home, what people want is petrol, diesel, food, clothes and roof over head. We wanted him to strive for these things...," the Congress chief said. Mr. Kharge also alleged the saffronisation of education. "Today the RSS syllabus is being taught in the universities, Morarji Desai residential schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas," he alleged. The Congress leader also claimed that everywhere, the RSS people are getting postings for their children while others are struggling for survival. He also stated that the Congress party's guarantees are being implemented effectively across the country. "Some jealous leaders and political parties are trying to undermine our guarantees. But they will not succeed in their efforts," he said. Mr. Kharge added that criticising and defaming welfare initiatives that have directly benefited women and other citizens will not impress the people. He claimed that the way the Congress government is striving for social justice, the BJP cannot do it anywhere in the country.
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Former Minister Eshwarappa criticises increase in reservation for minorities in housing schemes
Former Minister K.S. Eshwarappa has come down heavily on the Congress government in Karnataka for increasing reservation for minorities in housing schemes from 10% to 15%. In a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Eshwarappa wanted to know if the government decided to sell the State entirely to the Muslims before the end of its term. 'The Siddaramaiah-led government increased allocation of funds for the Muslims in two Budgets. The Congress came to power chanting the mantra of backward classes and Dalits. However, after coming to power the party is only interested in the welfare of the Muslims,' he alleged. He refuted Mr. Siddaramaiah's argument that the increase in the reservation was as per the guidelines of the Central government. 'Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has categorically stated that there was no such guidelines from the Centre,' he said, demanding the State government to show the copy of the Central government's directive. Referring to Law Minister H.K. Patil's statement that the government had not investigated illegal mining cases properly to punish the culprits, Mr. Eshwarappa said Chief Minister Siddaramaih should apologise before the people for failing to investigate the cases properly. 'The loss to the State exchequer due to illegal mining is over ₹1.5 lakh crore. The amount is equivalent to the funds spent on the guarantee schemes for three years,' Mr. Eshwarappa said. He demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge into the allegations of corruption in allotting houses for the poor under the housing schemes.
Scroll.in
36 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: BJP, AAP retain seats in Assembly bye-polls, SP expels 3 MLAs for cross-voting and more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party retained one seat each in the Assembly bye-elections in Gujarat. The BJP won the Kadi constituency, while AAP leader Gopal Italia defeated the Hindutva party in Visavadar. In Kerala's Nilambur constituency, the Congress defeated the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In Punjab, the ruling AAP retained the Ludhiana West constituency, defeating the Congress. The Trinamool Congress also retained the Kaliganj seat in West Bengal, defeating the BJP. Read on. The Samajwadi Party expelled three MLAs in Uttar Pradesh who had cross-voted in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party during Rajya Sabha elections in February 2024. The three legislators – Abhay Singh from Gosaiganj, Rakesh Pratap Singh from Gauriganj and Manoj Kumar Pandey from Unchahar – were among seven party members who had cross-voted. This had led to the defeat of one of the three candidates put forward by the Samajwadi Party. With this, the party has 104 MLAs in the 403-member Legislative Assembly. The party said that a 'grace period' given for the three MLAs to have a 'change of heart' was now over. The grace period remained in place for other legislators on account of their 'good conduct', it added. Read on. The police in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district filed a first information report against former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and several of his aides over the death of a 65-year-old man during a YSR Congress Party rally on June 18. Guntur District Superintendent of Police S Satish Kumar said the man Cheeli Singaiah died after being run over by a vehicle in which Jagan Mohan Reddy was travelling during the rally. Besides Jagan Mohan Reddy, the FIR names his driver Ramana Reddy, personal assistant Nageswar Reddy, MP YV Subba Reddy and former ministers Perni Nani and Vidadala Rajini. All of them were reportedly in the vehicle that ran over Singaiah. Read on. The Congress said that the ongoing security operations against Maoists should not be politicised and must be carried out in a transparent manner. Party leader Sachin Pilot said that there must be accountability relating to the actions. 'It is a matter of internal security,' the party leader said. Pilot made the comment in response to recent remarks by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who on Sunday announced that the operations would continue through the monsoon. Operations are usually suspended during the season as rainfall hampers combat inside dense forests.
