Examine facts before jumping to conclusions: BJP to Rahul Gandhi over Congress leader's article

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "baseless accusations" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to examine facts before jumping to conclusions.

The reaction of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came after Gandhi, in an opinion piece in "The Indian Express", said the original East India Company wound up its operations more than 150 years ago but the raw fear it then generated is back now, with a new breed of monopolists having taken its place.

Hitting back at the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, the BJP wrote on X: "Another baseless accusation against the Modi government through the so-called 'match-fixing monopoly groups versus fair-play businesses' is simply misleading."

"Dear Baalak Buddhi, do not jump to conclusions without examining facts," the saffron party said in a veiled reference to Gandhi.

It also shared on X video clips of the top executives of nine companies, including Zomato, Haldiram, Tynor, Larsen & Toubro and Moglix, named by Gandhi in his article, and asked the Congress leader to listen to their views on Modi's leadership and economic policies.

"Listen to what these companies have to say about the support they've received from PM Modi," the party said.

In his article, Gandhi said India was silenced by the East India Company and it was silenced not by the company's business prowess, but by its chokehold.

The company choked India by partnering with, bribing and threatening more pliant maharajas and nawabs, the Congress leader said.

"It controlled our banking, bureaucratic and information networks. We did not lose our freedom to another nation; we lost it to a monopolistic corporation that ran a coercive apparatus," he said.

The original East India Company wound up its operations more than 150 years ago, but the raw fear it used to generate then is back now, he claimed.

A new breed of monopolists has taken its place, amassing colossal wealth, even as India has become far more unequal and unfair for everyone else, Gandhi said.

"Our institutions no longer belong to our people, they do the bidding of monopolists. Lakhs of businesses have been decimated and India is unable to generate jobs for her youth," the former Congress president said.

Sharing the article on X, he said, "Choose your India: Play-Fair or Monopoly? Jobs or Oligarchies? Competence or Connections? Innovation or Intimidation? Wealth for many or the few?"

"I write on why a New Deal for Business isn't just an option. It is India's future," Gandhi said, sharing his opinion piece on the microblogging platform.