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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said high US tariffs are severely hurting India’s textile sector and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently
intervene, warning that job losses and factory shutdowns are already underway. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said India must secure a trade deal with the United States that prioritises Indian businesses and workers. He alleged that the government’s inaction on tariffs was worsening the situation for exporters and employees. The Congress leader shared a video on X from his recent visit to a garment factory in Haryana, where he interacted with workers and management and observed production processes. In the post accompanying the video, Gandhi said, “50 per cent US tariffs and uncertainty are badly hurting India’s textile exporters. Job losses, factory shutdowns and reduced orders are a reality of our 'Dead Economy'.”
He added, “Mr. Modi has offered no relief or even spoken about tariffs, even though more than 4.5 crore jobs and lakhs of businesses are at stake. Modi ji, you are accountable; please direct your attention to this matter!” The post carried the hashtag TINA — “There is No Accountability”.
Gandhi also uploaded the video on YouTube with a similar message. Reiterating his criticism of the government, he said, “Modi ji, you are accountable; please direct your attention to this matter!”, a remark seen as a pointed swipe at the PM, apparently in reference to US President Donald Trump’s commonly used phrase in social media posts.
In the video, Gandhi is seen touring different sections of the factory, speaking with workers and executives, and briefly trying his hand at cutting cloth.
Union Textile Minister Responds
Meanwhile, Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that textile exports have gone up and 5 crore jobs have been created in the sector in the last 11 years.
Responding to Gandhi's post on X that 50 per cent US tariffs have crippled India's textile sector, Singh said the Congress leader should stop misleading the country by spreading lies and apologise to the nation.
"Humne 11 saal mein textile mein 5 crore logon ko rozgar dene ka kaam kiya hai. yeh shutdown nahin hai.....Rahul Gandhi desh ke khilaf bolna band karein. Aapke dimag ka shutdown hua hai, industry ka shutdown nahin hua (In 11 years, we've employed 50 million people in textiles. This isn't a shutdown... Rahul Gandhi, stop speaking against the country. It's a shutdown of your mind, not an industry shutdown), Singh told reporters on the sidelines of the India International Garment Fair (IIGF).
Asking Gandhi to stop abusing the country, Singh said, "He should apologise and not spread misinformation".
The minister said if Gandhi does not apologise to the nation, the Congress leader should withdraw his statement.
The minister asserted that the textile and garment industries have not shut down.
He said that between April and December 2024, textile exports were to the tune of Rs 95,000 crore, and increased further to Rs 1.02 lakh crore during April-December 2025.
"Which shutdown has happened, which exports have fallen, that you are spreading misinformation in the country...", the minister wondered.
Singh said India has signed several trade deals post 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power, while also referring to the proposed free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation bloc European Union (EU).
India and the EU are expected to announce the conclusion of negotiations on the much-awaited free trade agreement at the India-EU summit on January 27.
"Before 2014, we had FTAs with 10-11 countries. Today, it is with 17 countries and that is not all, if we add more agreements then it will be 21, and now it has been completed with the UK, the formalities of which are yet to be completed and you must have seen what language the spokesperson of European Union used, on 27th that FTA will also be done with these 27 countries," the textile minister told reporters.
He asserted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, employment is also increasing in the country, and the textile industry will reach a market size of USD 350 billion by 2030.
"Yeh mai aapko chunauti de raha hun. Aap desh se maafi maangein nahin toh apne bayaan par phir se waapis. (I am challenging you on this. If you do not apologise to the country, then go back on your statement)," Singh retorted.
(With PTI inputs)
