New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): BJP spokesperson Rohan Gupta, replying to Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s admiration for China, said that it was not only bad optics but also in bad taste for crores of proud Indians.
Rohan Gupta, in a special interaction with IANS, expressed reservations over the Congress MP giving thumbs-up to China’s growth despite the latter battling multiple headwinds and lamented the Congress party’s attitude of projecting Indians as ‘obsequent’ to foreign forces.
“There is a need to change the mindset. When the whole world is profusely praising the India growth story and patting its back, then an Indian leader goes abroad and lauds China. This won’t go down well with the citizens,” the BJP leader told IANS.
The Congress MP, in an interaction with students of Texas University, US, on Sunday night said that much like the West, India has got an unemployment problem while China remains ‘untouched’ by the changing dynamics.
He said that the West, America, Europe and India have "given up on the idea of production" while China has “happily” picked it up.
“The West has an employment problem. India has an employment problem... But many countries in the world don't have an employment problem. China certainly doesn't have an employment problem. Vietnam doesn't have an employment problem. India has to think about the act of production and organising production,” LoP Rahul Gandhi said.
Rohan Gupta further drawing a comparison between India’s economy and its Asian counterpart, said that today, China is facing heightened unemployment, their joblessness has crossed 5.2 per cent, their GDP growth has fallen.
India’s GDP is much ahead of China and its economic indicators are much ahead of any other country.
Indian stock markets have seen a three-fold jump in the past ten years. Despite global pressures, the Sensex has risen from 25,000 points to more than 80,000 points.
“The Opposition is entitled to its views and criticism of the government’s policies, however demeaning one’s own country and glorifying an enemy nation on foreign soil is uncalled for,” he stated.
"You can question and corner the government domestically but pursuing an agenda on foreign shores is unwelcome,” he added.