BHOPAL: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the Indo-US interim trade deal was sealed under pressure and dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the "anti-farmer" agreement, following the US Supreme Court ruling.
Addressing the ‘Kisan Mahachaupal’ rally in Bhopal, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha described the agreement as "an arrow in the heart of farmers".
"After the US Supreme Court ruling on the trade deal (global tariffs), I challenge PM Modi to scrap it if he has courage...but he won't be able to do so," said the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
In a major setback to Trump's pivotal economic agenda for his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict, ruled that the tariffs imposed by the president on nations around the world were illegal and that he had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.
Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister approved the agreement under external pressure linked to the threat of releasing "Epstein files" and an ongoing criminal case involving industrialist Gautam Adani in the US.
"Narendra Modi is compromised. He has been trapped. He has signed this agreement under pressure. This is not a deal, it is an arrow in the heart of the farmer,” Gandhi said, claiming that the pact had been stalled for months before being cleared suddenly.
He questioned that the India-US trade agreement had been stalled for four months, but what happened that made Prime Minister Modi suddenly agree to it?
"There are two reasons for this. The first reason is the lakhs of Epstein files lying in America. There are 30 lakh files. It contains emails, messages, and videos," the Congress leader said.
He said Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's name figured in the "Epstein Files" and claimed that the release of such material was meant to intimidate the Prime Minister.
"By doing so (releasing the files), the US has sent a message that if PM Modi does not listen to them, the evidence from the files will be revealed," the opposition leader alleged.
Gandhi said that another reason behind Modi agreeing to the trade deal was the ongoing criminal case against Adani in the US.
"This case in America is not aimed at Adani. It is aimed at Narendra Modi. The target is not Adani; it is Narendra Modi. The arrow is not directed at Adani; it is directed at Narendra Modi. These are the two reasons why Narendra Modi approved the trade deal," he added.
The Congress leader challenged the Prime Minister to cancel the agreement “if he has the courage,” asserting that fear of the alleged files and the US case prevented him from doing so.
He claimed that the Prime Minister approved the deal with the US without consulting the Union Cabinet and without taking into confidence senior ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture) and Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways).
He alleged that the agreement compromised India’s agriculture, data, textile and import sectors.
Gandhi claimed he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha after the President’s address because he wanted to comment on former Army Chief Manoj Naravane's memoirs, calling it unprecedented for a Leader of the Opposition.
He 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.
According to Gandhi, the decision to go to war is a political one, not of military, alleging that the government “abandoned” the Army leadership at a critical time.
Citing General Naravane' unpublished work, Gandhi said the former Army chief has written that when Chinese tanks were approaching the Indian border, he had called up Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Dobhal, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to seek the government's orders regarding action, but received no response.
"Naravane ji has written in his book that on that day the Indian government and the Prime Minister abandoned him and the Army," the Congress leader said.
When the time came to give orders to the Army chief and stop China, PM Modi "disappeared", he added.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was present at the rally, termed PM Modi a "coward", alleging that the trade deal reflected a "surrender" by the government.
"Democracy and the Constitution are in danger. Modi has destroyed the dignity and respect. He is trying to push the farmers into slavery," Kharge alleged.
He said that eight to ten years ago, Modi used to thump his chest about his friendship with Trump.
"Whether Modi used to talk about selling India to farmers over tea with Trump or about enslaving them? I have been in politics for 60 years and have been an MLA and MP for 54 years. I have never seen such a cowardly PM," said the veteran Congress leader.
Kharge accused the Prime Minister of avoiding public scrutiny and criticism by shunning interaction with the media and opposition.
"He does not talk face-to-face. He does not address a single press conference, but talks about 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sundays. He doesn't talk about 'Mann Ki Baat' in Parliament. Our PM is scared. He works to intimidate and scare Congress. He works to harass the Youth Congress," he alleged.
Kharge said the Congress, which forced the British to leave India and won freedom for the people, can't be intimidated.
"You cowards surrendered. All of you wrote an apology letter and submitted it. The real patriots are in Congress," he said.