NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition (LoP )and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday questioned the manner in which the Indo-US trade deal was announced by the United States (US), not by the Indian government.
Participating in the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Upper House, he said that it was an insult to the Indian Parliament that parliamentarians got to know about the deal while it was in session from US President Donald Trump.
“(JP) Nadda Saab does not know; (Bupendra) Yadav saab doesn’t know about the deal. Trump is telling us from the US how this country should be run,” Kharge said, alleging that the agreement would hurt the interests of Indian farmers and the government wants to destroy the country's agriculture sector.
Quoting US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, he said, “The new US-India deal will export more farm products to India's massive markets, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America…Meaning American farmers will benefit…Our farmers are being destroyed. Tell us, are you (government) working for the welfare of farmers or are you against the farmers?” the LoP said.
American imports will come at zero tariff and what India exports there will be at 18 percent, Kharge lamented.
Attacking the Government further, he alleged that it had planned to destroy the Constitution.
“After independence, we had two big targets before us; establishing a social system based on equal justice and making this country a parliamentary democracy ... .You have run bulldozers on both in 11 years. In your thinking, the Constitution is below and the Manusmriti is above. In the past years, the government has been striking at the four pillars of the Constitution: Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity,” Kharge said.
Laws like MGNREGA, National Food Security Act, Forest Rights Act, Right to Education, Right to Information, and Land Acquisition Act were enacted keeping in mind Articles 36 to 51 of the Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Indian Constitution however the Government has continuously weakened them, he said while criticizing.
In his about an hour long speech, Kharge also spoke about Manipur violence. He alleged that while the state was boiling but the Government was silent, which was a failure of the leadership.
Earlier, the Congress leader, through a tweet, sought to know whether India had compromised in any manner under US “pressure”.
Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet was on thanking him for reducing tariffs to 18 per cent, but did not mention anything about the deal.
“Parliament is in session, but the Modi government used an outside platform to talk about the deal, without divulging any details. Three key questions, among others remain unanswered; Has India compromised in any manner under US pressure? Have we agreed to ZERO tariffs on American imports, as claimed by Mr. Trump? Would our farmers be secure? Have we fully or partially opened up our agricultural sectors for the US Agri market?” he posted on X.
"Would India stop buying oil from Russia ? What has India conveyed to Russia in this regard?" he asked.