The Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi warned that India’s dependence on Chinese goods poses a national security risk and is tied to the failure of `Make in India’.
Participating in a discussion on the President’s address in the Budget Session,he said that at present the Chinese are in India but the Prime Minister has denied it, whereas the Army disagrees with the Prime Minister.
Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Modi proposed the ‘Make in India’ programme; I think it was a good idea. “The result is right in front of you; manufacturing fell from 15.3% of GDP in 2014 to 12.6% of GDP today, which is the lowest share of manufacturing in 60 years. I am not blaming the Prime Minister; it would not be fair to say that he did not try. I could say that the Prime Minister tried, but he failed,” he said.
“There are basically four technologies driving change inmobility—electric motors, batteries, optics, and on top of that, the application of AI. People talk about AI, but AI on its own is meaningless because it operates on data. If we look at data today, every single piece of data that comes out of the production system is owned by China,” he added.
Highlighting concerns over India’s defence preparedness, he warned that in case of a conflict, the country would be reliant on Chinese-made components.
Mocking the Central government, Gandhi claimed that if it had taken economic policies seriously, then the government would not have had to send Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
Hitting back, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asked Gandhi to substantiate his claims on the government’s foreign policy. “You cannot make such unsubstantiated claims,” he said, Replying to him, Rahul Gandhi says, “I apologise for disturbing your peace of mind…”
The Congress leader 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.
Rahul Gandhi also raised concerns over voter data in the recently held Maharashtra elections, urging the Election Commission to provide detailed information on new voters. “We are saying to the Election Commission, please give us the names, addresses, and polling booths of all voters in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha so that we can calculate who these new voters are,” Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament.