In a no-holds-barred attack, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the government has “sold Bharat Mata” through the India-US interim trade deal, and that it was a “wholesale surrender” with India’s energy security handed over to America and farmers’ interests compromised.
Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, Gandhi said he does not believe that any Indian prime minister, including Narendra Modi, would agree to such a deal unless there is a “chokehold” on him.
“Why has he (Modi) sold India — because they (the US) are choking him. They have a grip on his neck,” said Gandhi, who began his address with an analogy of how in martial arts after securing a grip, the next step is a chokehold, and then the opponent taps to give up.
The Congress leader noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval had stated some time back that the era of war is over. “In fact, we are moving into the era of war. War is there in Ukraine, war was there in Gaza, war is there in the Middle East, threat of war is there in Iran, we had Operation Sindoor.”
“We are moving into a dangerous world. We have to understand our strengths, and the central strength of our country is our people,” he pointed out.
He underlined the need to protect country’s people, data, food supply and energy system.
Gandhi said that had an INDIA bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
‘Ridiculously false’: BJP on Rahul’s accusations against PM Modi
NEW DELHI, FEB 11 (PTI): BJP on Wednesday dismissed as “ridiculously false” Rahul Gandhi’s accusations against Prime Minister Modi over India-US interim trade deal and alleged that the Leader of Opposition took the parliamentary decorum to the lowest level with “street language” while speaking in the Lok Sabha.
Slamming Gandhi for his remarks, BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni said the Congress leader’s claims about India-US trade deal are “ridiculously false and incorrect”.
In a series of posts on X, Baluni said, “Facts are clearly not the LoP’s strong suit.”
“Rahul Gandhi has once again chosen theatrics over truth, misleading both the House and the nation,” he said.
Baluni alleged that during Budget discussion in Lok Sabha, Gandhi did not merely criticise the document but “misquoted and misread” it, and then “built an argument on that distortion”.
“Rahul Gandhi’s claim hinges on a document that no longer reflects reality. He is citing an older US government fact sheet that framed India’s proposed USD 500 billion purchases as a commitment. That language has since been corrected,” BJP MP added.
“The updated position is clear: India has expressed an intention, not a binding obligation, to purchase goods worth up to USD 500 billion over the coming years,” Baluni said.