In U.K., Goyal slams Opposition for criticising Indian government overseas

 Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. File | Photo Credit: AP

In the U.K. for a conference, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal criticised the Opposition for criticising the government overseas. Mr. Goyal was speaking at a discussion at the Science Museum as part of the India Global Forum 2025.

The Minister, who spent much of his time at the forum discussing the recently announced India-U.K. trade deal, commended the U.K. Labour Party for not backtracking on any commitments made to the Indian side by the Conservative Party, which was in power until early July 2024 and oversaw the majority of the trade negotiations with New Delhi.

“I must commend the current government for having committed to me well before your election, encouraging me to close the deal with the previous government,” Mr. Goyal said, adding that this represented the strength of British democracy.

“I’d like to commend both your political parties for that maturity that they have shown. I wish we had an Opposition equally mature who wouldn’t come to your land... and to Oxford University... and run down his own nation,” Mr. Goyal said to laughter from the audience.

Mr. Goyal was presumably referring to a talk by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the University of Cambridge in 2023, in which he said that Indian democracy was under threat.

Published - June 19, 2025 10:47 pm IST