NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said that the latest figures showing India’s economy grew by 7.8 per cent in April–June were the “hardest slap of reality” for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had recently said India was a “dead economy.” According to government data released on Friday, the country’s economy grew by 7.8 per cent in April–June, the highest in five quarters, before the US imposed tariffs. The growth in the first quarter of the current financial year was mainly supported by the farm sector. Union agriculture minister Shivraj Chouhan said, “Those who call it a ‘dead economy’ should now understand that India is a ‘long live economy’, which is on the path to realising the dream of a developed and fully self-reliant India.” He added in a post on X, “The sweat of the Indian farmers, the hard work of our scientists, and the 140 crore Indians have demonstrated their capabilities.” Chouhan also said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is moving ahead to achieve the goal of a developed nation. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said, “For the acerbic, delusional, frustrated, and rejected Rahul Gandhi — the same man who declared India a ‘dead economy’ — the latest GDP numbers are the hardest slap of reality.” He added, “India has just clocked 7.8 per cent GDP growth in Q1 of FY 2025-26, leading the world’s major economies.” He also said, “The only thing ‘dead’ is Rahul Gandhi’s credibility.” In another post on X, Malviya said that India is not only growing but also proving the “doomsayers wrong, quarter after quarter.” He added, “The same purveyors of the ‘India is a dead economy’ narrative are now scrambling to hide their faces.” Rahul Gandhi, referring to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Indian economy, had recently said that everyone except Prime Minister Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman knew that the country’s economy was “dead.” As Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, he also said that the BJP-led government had destroyed India’s economic, defence, and foreign policies, and had run the country “to the ground.” His remarks came after Trump last month called India a “dead economy,” and announced 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India, along with an unspecified “penalty” for the purchase of Russian military equipment and crude oil.