Rahul ‘selling panic’, promoting baseless conspiracy theories: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (June 4, 2026) accused Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi of “selling panic” and promoting baseless conspiracy theories about Indian institutions and the economy, in response to his remarks on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not remain in office a year from now.

Claiming that the Modi government was facing an “institutional revolt”, at the Congress’s National Adivasi Professional Conclave, Mr. Gandhi had said an unprecedented “economic tsunami” was set to hit India as the BJP government had removed protections against international shocks, and its control over institutions had collapsed.

BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya retorted sharply through a post on X. “Every few months, he [Mr. Gandhi] unveils a new conspiracy theory. First, democracy was over. Then institutions were captured. Then election rigging. Now we are told that an Emergency is coming and an economic tsunami is around the corner. At some point, one has to ask: is Rahul Gandhi interested in facts, or is he simply manufacturing fear and chaos because he cannot explain his party’s repeated electoral failures?,” he said.

“According to Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Election Commissioner, intelligence chiefs, judges, institutions, and practically everyone in the system have been secretly working for him for the last three years, constantly feeding him information. Yet, despite having this extraordinary network, his party keeps losing elections and shrinking politically. Not a single allegation of election rigging has been proven in court. Not one,” said Mr. Malviya.

Stating that Mr. Gandhi’s claim about impending “economic tsunami” was nothing but a “classic fear-mongering”, he said: “If India’s shock absorbers had truly been removed, why is the economy continuing to show resilience despite elevated crude prices, conflict in West Asia, supply chain disruptions, global financial tightening and persistent geopolitical uncertainty?”

‘Stronger reserves’

He said although India was facing an external shock, it was not defenceless as the shock absorbers had been built over the last decade. The country was facing global headwinds with “stronger reserves, lower inflation, better infrastructure spending, stronger domestic demand, record FDI inflows, substantial food buffers and targeted support for MSMEs [Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises] and industry,” said Mr. Malviya.

Listing the indicators of India’s resilient economy, he cited the latest data on e-way bill generation, Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, and electricity consumption.

“Urban auto sales rose 11.8% in April, while rural auto sales grew an even stronger 13.8%. Retail inflation remained contained at 3.48% in April — below the RBI’s 4% target. Rice and wheat buffer stocks stood at 817.53 lakh tonnes at the end of April, providing a strong food security cushion. Gross FDI inflows touched a historic high of $94.5 billion in FY26,” he said.

“Forex reserves remain comfortable…Strong services exports continue to support external stability and narrow the trade deficit,” he said. The BJP leader said when global crude prices surged, excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel cushioned consumers and supply-side interventions and export restrictions were used whenever necessary.

Quoting the figures from the Congress-led UPA period, he said: “That was the real removal of shock absorbers…The Modi government strengthened India before, during and after repeated shocks, COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, crude spikes, global rate hikes, supply-chain disruptions and now instability in West Asia.”

Despite facing multiple black swan events, India had remained the world’s fastest-growing major economy, moved from the “Fragile Five” to the top five economies, Mr. Malviya said.