Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday lashed out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on the textile sector and challenged the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to debate with him in Parliament. The union minister said Gandhi should apologise to him, while pointing out that the textile sector has experienced massive growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past 11 years.
Speaking exclusively to India TV, the Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Begusarai said Gandhi is a liar for calling India a dead economy and adding that the country has become the fourth largest global economy.
"India is unfortunate to have such a liar as the Leader of Opposition," the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. "Rahul Gandhi should apologise, or he should at least debate in the House. The export in the textile sector in December 2024 was Rs 27,710 crore, and it was Rs 29,492 crore in December 2025. This is a growth of 6.5 per cent."
"From April to December 2024, the export was Rs 2.23 lakh crore, and from April to December 2025, it was Rs 2.32 lakh crore. This is a growth of 3.8 per cent. From January to December 2024, the export was Rs 3.15 lakh crore. From January to December 2025, it was Rs 3.27 lakh crore. This is a growth of 3.8 per cent," Singh said, citing export figures.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi claimed that the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have severely impacted the Indian economy, particularly the textile sector. Attacking the Centre, Gandhi said PM Modi should not allow his "own weakness" to impact the economy any further.
The former Congress president even shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which he called the Indian economy 'dead' and said that the textile sector is facing deep uncertainty and fear because of US tariffs. He said this has directly impacted the jobs in this sector, causing widespread turmoil, but PM Modi has not offered any relief to anyone.
"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!" Gandhi posted on X, while using the hashtag TINA - 'There is No Accountability'.
