In what appeared to be a deliberate move, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi misspelt Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s name after she called him out for making false claims regarding the Tata Group. Gandhi disrespectfully referred to Sitharaman as “Mrs Sitarama” after she asked him to “stop seeing ghosts everywhere”.
Gandhi’s distasteful response came after Sitharaman lashed out at him for claiming that the Tata Group was being “criminally destroyed”, blaming the Modi government for it. In an X post, Gandhi attacked the Modi government and accused it of destroying Indian businesses.
“Tata is being criminally destroyed, and no business leader dares say a word. How long will you stay silent? Until they own you? Indian business is not Modi and Shah’s plaything. You lack courage. We don’t. We will ensure justice for these crimes,” Gandhi claimed in a post on X. His remarks were made in the context of an ongoing dispute regarding the leadership of Tata Sons.
Dear Mrs. Sitarama, 1.Which "legal and commercial matter" required Tata Trusts and Tata Sons to be hosted at Amit Shah’s residence? 2.When is crony number 1 going to appear in the game and which pieces of Tata is he going to get? Finally, all India’s businesses except 3-4 of your cronies, already hate all of you and don’t need any incitement.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2026
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s claims, the Finance Minister urged him not to politicise the issue. “…casually labelling commercial and legal matters as criminal is unacceptable,” Sitharaman said. The Union Minister lambasted the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and called him out for trying to incite business leaders to join him in “spreading distrust & toxicity”.
Sitharaman reminded Gandhi how during his party’s government, businesses suffered under “Licence-Quota Raj” and the country was pushed into poverty. “For decades, your party had smothered the spirit of the Indian entrepreneurs under the stifling ‘Licence-Quota Raj’ & inflicted poverty on crores of Indians. On the other hand, our government, led by PM @narendramodi, values Indian industry as job creators & drivers of economic growth. Our policies have been tailored to enable enterprise, support industry, and encourage investment,” Sitharaman said.
Being the LoP @RahulGandhi, I suggest you refrain from politicising every issue. Also, casually labelling commercial and legal matters as criminal is unacceptable. You have repeatedly decried the successes of Indian industry & our entrepreneurs. Now, are you trying to incite our business leaders to join you in spreading distrust & toxicity? For decades, your party had smothered the spirit of the Indian entrepreneurs under the stifling ‘Licence-Quota Raj’ & inflicted poverty on crores of Indians. On the other hand, our government led by PM @narendramodi values the Indian industry as job creators & drivers of economic growth. Our policies have been tailored to enable enterprise, support industry and encourage investment. Political parties, leaders, governments and institutions share an equal responsibility to support our industry, strengthen our farmers and secure the future of our youth. Therefore, it is essential to engage constructively rather than casting baseless aspersions to suit your narrow political motives. The Constitution of India ensures justice to all its citizens & our Honourable Courts are entrusted with upholding it. History is witness to the shoddy manner in which you, your party and the PMs belonging to your party have demeaned the judiciary. So Rahul ji, refrain from seeing ghosts everywhere.
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) October 28, 2026
The Minister asked Gandhi not to cast baseless aspersions to suit his narrow political motives, asserting that supporting Indian businesses and farmers is a shared responsibility of political parties, leaders, governments and institutions. “The Constitution of India ensures justice to all its citizens & our Honourable Courts are entrusted with upholding it. History is witness to the shoddy manner in which you, your party, and the PMs belonging to your party have demeaned the judiciary. So, Rahul ji, refrain from seeing ghosts everywhere,” Sitharaman said.
Rahul Gandhi replied to the Finance Minister’s response with further allegations and by misspelling her name. “Dear Mrs Sitharaman, 1. Which “legal and commercial matter” required Tata Trusts and Tata Sons to be hosted at Amit Shah’s residence?,” Gandhi asked, referring to a meeting involving Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekaran and other trustees with home minister Amit Shah and Sitharaman at Shah’s residence on October 7 last year.
“2. When is crony number 1 going to appear in the game, and which pieces of Tata is he going to get?” he added, claiming further, “Finally, all of India’s businesses except 3-4 of your cronies already hate all of you and don’t need any incitement.”
