'Some boss is jealous': Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's indirect swipe at US President
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, without naming US President Donald Trump, accused “some boss” of being jealous of India’s growth.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday launched a scathing attack on those opposing India’s rapid growth, indirectly targeting US President Donald Trump over his recent tariff hike against Indian goods. Without naming him, Singh said, “Some ‘boss’ is jealous, unable to accept India’s growth, trying to disrupt the country’s economy. There are people who are not happy with the speed at which India is developing. They are trying to make goods made in India costlier than their own products so that the world won’t buy them.”
‘No power can stop India’s rise’
Singh said that such tactics will not succeed,saying, “India is progressing so fast, I say with full confidence that now no power in the world can stop India from becoming a big power of the world.” Singh noted, “We are exporting defence items worth more than ₹24,000 crore. This is the strength of India, this is the new defence sector of the new India, and exports are continuously increasing.”
Tariff war heats up
His remarks come days after Trump signed an executive order doubling tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50%, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. India has condemned the move as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.” Trump had told CNBC that he plans to “substantially raise” tariffs, accusing India of not being a good trading partner.
Defence Minister praises BRAHMA project
Singh lauded initiatives like BRAHMA, calling them critical in strengthening India’s industrial and technological base, which is essential for both national security and economic growth.
“Seeing the development of Madhya Pradesh, I can say that in the coming years, it will be known as Modern Pradesh. The rail coach factory named ‘Brahma’ is a wonderful idea — naming it after the creator is symbolic. I am confident this unit will achieve great heights in manufacturing,” he said.
Defence exports cross ₹24,000 Crore
Highlighting India’s growing footprint in the global defence market, Singh said, “You will be happy to know that we are now exporting defence items worth more than ₹24,000 crore. This is the strength of a new India, and our defence exports are rising steadily.”
The minister also reiterated his announcement from Saturday that India’s annual defence production has hit an all-time high of ₹1,50,590 crore in FY 2024-25. This marks an 18% rise from the previous year’s output of ₹1.27 lakh crore and a massive 90% jump from FY 2019-20, when production stood at ₹79,071 crore.