DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇳 India /Economy & Trade

Kiren Rijiju clashes with Congress again, this time over India’s GDP: ‘Drinking too much beer or blind loathing’

From Hindustan Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Union minister Kiren Rijiju criticized Congress after its Kerala unit used a beer-mug graphic to mock the government’s GDP claims.
  • Congress cited former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who said reported growth could have been 2.6% without a revision to the previous year’s GDP.
  • India’s economy grew 7.8% in the April-June quarter, down from 8.6% in the previous quarter but above expectations.

A beer mug has become the latest weapon in the political fight over India’s economic growth figures. The Kerala Congress posted a graphic showing the fizz labeled “official GDP” and the drink below labeled “Indian economy.”

Is Congress Party in a state of deep intoxication due to drinking too much beer or Congressmen are so swayed by their blind loathing of India's growth that they have lost touch with the ground reality?

— Kiren RijijuThe Union minister responded to a Kerala Congress graphic mocking the government’s GDP claims.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded with a personal attack on Congress. He asked, “Is Congress Party in a state of deep intoxication due to drinking too much beer or Congressmen are so swayed by their blind loathing of India's growth that they have lost touch with the ground reality?”

The exchange followed Congress criticism of the government’s GDP numbers. Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video of former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who said revising the previous year’s GDP by as much as 6 trillion rupees had lifted the current year’s first-quarter growth figure to about 10.3%.

If you had not revised last year's GDP, the growth in current prices would have been 2.6 per cent.

— Subhash Chandra GargThe former finance secretary discussed how revising the previous year’s GDP affected the reported growth figure.

Garg also said growth at current prices would have been 2.6% without that revision. Ramesh accused the Narendra Modi government of presenting GDP figures shaped by “statistical jugglery” and said the economy’s reported performance contradicted conditions on the ground. He called for job creation, stronger support for small businesses and private investment, higher demand and incomes, reduced inequality, and fair competition.

We want the economy to truly be strong, but the path to a strong economy doesn't come from embellishing numbers fabricated on a foundation of lies - it comes from accepting the truth.

— Jairam RameshThe Congress communications chief criticized the government’s presentation of economic data.

India’s economy grew 7.8% in the April-June quarter, faster than expected. Growth in the first quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year nevertheless slowed from 8.6% in the previous quarter, amid concerns about an economic downturn linked to the war in West Asia.

PR can polish the picture of GDP, but not the economy itself.

— Jairam RameshRamesh argued that government messaging could not change underlying economic conditions.
About this summary

Originally published by Hindustan Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog