Rahul Gandhi Accuses Modi Of Hasty Indo-US Trade Deal That Will Destroy Indian Farmers

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hastily agreeing to an Indo-US interim trade deal, claiming it would devastate Indian farmers by opening up the agriculture sector to American imports.

Addressing a Kisan Mahachaupal rally in Punjab, Gandhi alleged the deal had been delayed for four months over disputes regarding access to India's agriculture market. "Question arises, the work which PM did not do for four months, why did he do it within 15 minutes?" he said and asked why the trade deal was suddenly done.

According to PTI, Gandhi stated that Modi had assured US President Donald Trump that India would purchase American products worth Rs 9 lakh crore annually. He said that the deal will "destroy Indian farmers".

During his speech, Gandhi claimed he was prevented from speaking in the Lok Sabha after the President's address because he planned to discuss former Army Chief Manoj Naravane's memoirs. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he intended to refer to an unpublished book by Gen Naravane (retd), which, he claimed, described a lack of response from the political leadership during Chinese troop movements near the border.

"I asked experts why this deal was stuck. I got a reply that the US wants to open the Indian agriculture sector, and our government does not want to open it," said Gandhi. Nothing happened on this front for four months, he said.

PTI reported that Gandhi accused the prime minister of contacting the US president without consulting the Cabinet, the Agriculture minister, the Defence minister, or the External Affairs minister. Modi told US President Donald Trump that he was ready for the deal, said Gandhi.

Under this deal, India allowed the US to sell soybeans, corn, cotton, fruits and almonds, he said. "Our farmers are not mechanised. They have small land holdings”, he said, adding that in the US, the landholdings are bigger and also mechanised.

"Narendra Modi ji has opened the door of the agriculture sector. Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Odisha farmers of all these states will be ruined," he alleged. US goods will come, and our farmers will be destroyed, he said.

"Modi did not want to do this. I know it. Because for four months, he was trying to stop it. We have connections in the government, we know the bureaucrats, and we asked them whether they will open the agriculture sector. They said they are not doing it, he said. “Never ever has any prime minister, be it of the Congress or the BJP could open the agriculture sector, he said. Then the question arises that the work which Modi did not do for four moths then why did he do it within 15 minutes? he asked.

Reported PTI, Gandhi also claimed that if India buys goods worth Rs 9 lakh crore every year, then what will happen to our small and medium-scale sector? It will be finished, he claimed. He further claimed that PM Modi told the US that India will buy oil from a country that it wants. "Neither we will but oil from Russia, nor from Iran. If you (US) tell us to buy oil from Venezuela, the US and Saudi Arabi, India's entire energy security has been finished, Gandhi added,.

Senior Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa, former chief ministers Charanjit Singh Channi and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa and another senior leader from the state Vijay Inder Singla, were present.

(With inputs from PTI)