Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi should come up with "substantive arguments" to criticise the government's Make In India programme rather than ridiculing its logo.
"Demagoguery may be good in election campaigns, but when you are in Parliament, we expect you to come up with concrete criticisms for which we will give reply. But to throw something like this may amuse some members, but overall it just projects the leader as not having gone into greater details," she told PTI.
She was responding to the remarks of Gandhi who ridiculed the lion logo of Make In India as Narendra Modi's "babbar sher".
The Congress VP during a debate in Parliament had made fun of Modi's ambitious 'Make in India' programme, saying Prime Minister has "created a babbar sher' (Asiatic Lion)" in which "clock and wheels are seen moving".
Sitharaman said it was saddening that the vice president of the Congress party, which had ruled the country, was speaking in such a manner without substantive argument.
"This (Make In India) is a very good attempt. You are seeing how it is bringing in greater investments into the country, how manufacturing is improving... To ridicule much before this initiative is understood, is a sad development.
"I wish, if he wants to criticise, Rahul Gandhi should come up with substantive argument. To say that Babbar Sher aa jate hain (lions appear) doesn't help," she said.
Make In India, which was launched on September 25, 2014, aims at making the country a hub for global manufacturing. The government has undertaken various initiatives to make India an attractive destination for foreign investment and has taken several steps to promote ease of doing business.
