PTI, NEW DELHI, FEB 3, 2025 : Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the address of the President to the two Houses was similar to the one made last year, and claimed that it was the same “laundry list” of things the government has done.
Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address on January 31, Rahul said successive governments, be it the UPA or the present NDA, have not been able to tackle unemployment and give a clear-cut answer to youth about employment. He also said ‘Make in India’ was a good idea, but the Prime Minister “pretty much failed.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House. Rahul claimed the reason China is sitting inside this country is because ‘Make in India’ has failed and India is refusing to produce. “I am worried that India is going to give up this revolution to the Chinese once again,” he said.
While talking of the Congress’ vision of a President’s address, Rahul said we would not send our Foreign Minister to the United States to get our Prime Minister invited to the US President’s ‘coronation’. “When we talk to the US, we wouldn’t send our foreign minister to (get) our PM invited to his (US President’s) coronation. We will not send our Foreign Minister 3-4 times (to say) please invite our Prime Minister… because if we had a robust production system and were working on technologies, the US President would come to India and invite our PM,” Rahul said to protests from the treasury benches with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju asking him not to make “unsubstantiated allegations” on India’s foreign policy.
Rahul’s remarks were an apparent reference to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelling to the US ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Jaishankar later represented India at the inauguration on January 20. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar accused Rahul of resorting to “falsehood” after the Congress leader suggested that the minister’s visit to Washington in December was to manage an invite for the Prime Minister to Donald Trump’s inauguration as the US President.
“Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi deliberately spoke a falsehood about my visit to the US in December 2024,” Jaishankar said in a post on ‘X’. The External Affairs Minister said he visited the US to meet then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NSA Jake Sullivan as well as to chair a meeting of India’s Consuls General. “During my stay, the incoming NSA-designate met with me,” he said. “At no stage was an invitation in respect of the PM discussed. It is common knowledge that our PM does not attend such events. In fact, India is generally represented by Special Envoys,” Jaishankar said. “Rahul Gandhi’s lies may be intended politically. But they damage the nation abroad,” he added.
The External Affairs Minister paid a six-day visit to the US from December 24 to 29. It was the first high-level trip from India to Washington after Trump won the US Presidential election. Speaking in Lok Sabha, Rahul said: “I heard the President’s address. I must say I struggled through the President’s address to maintain my attention on what was being said, because I’ve heard pretty much the same address before — it’s the same list of things that the government has done,” Rahul said in the Lok Sabha.
The Leader of Opposition said he is being critical about what is being said, and this is not the type of President’s address he expected. The former Congress president also said as a country, India has failed in organizing production and has handed it over to the Chinese. He also said India has to focus completely on production and claimed social tension is on the rise in the country. Rahul was of the view that four technologies are driving change in mobility — electric motors, batteries, optics, and application of artificial intelligence (AI).
