50 percent tariff, employment crisis and factories closed…Rahul Gandhi attacks Center on textile industry.

New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that the high tariffs imposed by the US are causing serious losses to India’s textile industry. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately intervene and provide relief to the industry and workers. Gandhi warned that the process of job cuts and factory closures had already begun.

What did Rahul Gandhi say on trade agreement with US?

Rahul Gandhi said that India should make such a trade agreement with America in which Indian businesses and workers are given priority. He alleged that the government’s inaction is making the situation of exporters and employees worse.

Video of factory tour of Haryana

Rahul Gandhi visited a garment factory in Haryana and talked to the workers and management there. He shared the video on social media platform He wrote that the loss of jobs, closure of factories and reduction in orders reflect the reality of a ‘distressed economy’. Rahul Gandhi said, “Modi ji, you are accountable; please pay attention to this matter!” He used the hashtag #TINA (There is No Accountability) in the post.

50% US tariffs and uncertainty are badly hurting India’s textile exporters. Job losses, factory shutdowns and reduced orders are a reality of our ‘Dead Economy’.

Mr. Modi has offered no relief or even spoken about tariffs, even though more than 4.5 crore jobs and lakhs of… pic.twitter.com/5BcG3AZibg

—Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 23, 2026

Factory tour shown in video

In the video, Gandhi can be seen inspecting various parts of the factory, interacting with workers and officials and briefly attempting to cut cloth. During this time he made a sharp attack on the inaction of the government.

Union Textile Minister retaliated

Rejecting Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh said that textile exports have increased in the last 11 years and about 5 crore jobs have been created in this sector. Singh said that Gandhi is spreading misinformation in the country and he should apologize.

Giriraj Singh said, “We have given employment to five crore people in the textile industry in 11 years. The industry has not closed. Rahul Gandhi should stop speaking against the country.” He said that textile exports between April and December 2024 were approximately Rs 95,000 crore, which increased to Rs 1.02 lakh crore in April-December 2025.

free trade agreements

The Union Minister said that the Modi government has signed many trade agreements. He said that the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union is likely to be announced at the summit on January 27. He stressed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, employment is increasing and the textile industry will reach a market size of US$ 350 billion by 2030.

Challenge given to Rahul Gandhi

Giriraj Singh said that Rahul Gandhi is misleading the country and he should apologize for his statement. He challenged that if Gandhi does not apologize, he should withdraw his statements.