"Ghosts Everywhere": Nirmala Sitharaman Hits Back At Rahul Gandhi's Tata Remark

Launching a volley at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks that Tata is being "criminally destroyed", Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman "suggested" that he should not politicise every issue and refrain from seeing "ghosts everywhere".

Taking to X on Wednesday, amid a high-profile boardroom battle that has been playing out in the open since last month, the Leader of the Opposition alleged that the group was being destroyed and no business leader was daring to speak up.

The Congress MP also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and said they were treating India Inc as their "plaything".

"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," he wrote.

Quoting Gandhi's post, Sitharaman hit back and accused him of trying to spread distrust and toxicity.

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

"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 and our entrepreneurs. Now, are you trying to incite our business leaders to join you in spreading distrust & toxicity?" she asked.

The finance minister also alleged that the Congress had, for decades, tried to stifle the spirit of Indian entrepreneurs under the "licence-quota raj" and inflicted "poverty on crores of Indians".

She asserted that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government values the Indian industry and has made policies to enable its progress.

Attacking Gandhi over his promise of ensuring justice, the finance minister took another jibe and alleged that he and his party had demeaned the judiciary.

"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," she said.

Tata Battle

On Monday, Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata challenged the September 17 board resolution to reappoint N Chandrasekaran as the chairman of Tata Sons, which is the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

Noel Tata wrote to Tata Sons' company secretary Suprakash Mukhopadhyay, challenging the resolution.

Citing sources, news agency PTI reported that Noel Tata termed the reappointment for five years as void. He contended that the reappointment decision was taken out of turn and was not on the agenda for the meeting.

During the meeting, Tata Trusts Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan joined three other directors on the Tata Sons board in backing the reappointment of Chandrasekaran as the Tata Group chairman, while Noel Tata opposed it. The presiding chairman's casting vote was then used, triggering a face-off between Noel Tata and the other members of the Tata Sons board.