‘Scrap the deal’: Rahul dares PM Modi to abandon trade pact, repeats ‘sold India’ claim | India News

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the India-US trade deal, which he described as being against the interests of Indian farmers.Addressing the ‘Kisan Mahachaupal’ farmers’ rally in Bhopal, Gandhi called the interim trade deal an “arrow piercing the hearts of Indian farmers”.“After the US Supreme Court ruling on the trade deal, I challenge PM Modi to scrap it…but he won’t be able to do so,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.Rahul’s demand comes in the backdrop of the US Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s global tariffs and invalidating it.The Congress leader also made a series of serious allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming the PM rushed into a trade deal with the United States in the interest of his minister Hardeep Puri and industrialist Gautam Adani, who Rahul said is the “BJP’s financial structure”.Rahul Gandhi claimed Union minister Hardeep Puri’s name in the infamous Epstein files was released to “threaten” the PM, and that there are “videos and messages which have not been released from the millions of Epstein files” held up in the US.In another allegation, Rahul claimed that the case against Adani in the United States is not against the industrialist but against PM Modi, adding that these two were the reasons behind PM Modi’s withdrawal from Parliament and finalisation of the trade pact with America that had been stuck for months.“Millions of Epstein files are held up in the US; there are videos and messages which have not been released. Hardeep Puri’s name was released to threaten him. PM Modi must clear his relationship Anil Ambani?… Adani is not a small company; it is the BJP’s financial structure. Adani faces criminal charges in the US. He cannot go to the US or Europe. The target of the case in the US is Modi, not Adani… These were the two reasons why Modi withdrew from Parliament,” claimed Rahul Gandhi. Rahul said: “He left and called Trump, saying, ‘Sir, I’m ready to do whatever you say’, and he sold the country… Narendra Modi is compromised; he was trapped and forced to sign the US-India trade deal.”He claimed that PM Modi called US President Donald Trump to finalise the trade deal on the same day he, as leader of the opposition, questioned the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha over ex-Army chief MM Naravane’s book. Further questioning the timing of the deal, which had been dragging on for months, the Gandhi scion stepped up his attack on the PM, saying he sealed the deal with Trump “without even consulting his Cabinet”.Rahul, repeating his “PM Modi sold India’s farmers, garment industry and data” charges, said: “I want to say two or three more things. Listen carefully after my speech ends. The moment my speech ended, the Prime Minister left the Lok Sabha. In the evening, without consulting Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Chouhan, Gadkari, in fact, without consulting his Cabinet, Narendra Modi called Trump. Trump tweeted that the Prime Minister of India had called him and said he was ready to sign the US–India deal. For four months, nothing happened, and suddenly Narendra Modi called and sold out India’s farmers, sold out India’s garment industry, and handed over all our data to America.”The Congress leader also said that the ruling NDA made a false excuse that the opposition women MP had planned to attack PM Modi during his reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s address.“I want to ask, this deal had been stalled for four months. For four months, nothing moved. Narendra Modi left the Lok Sabha; you all saw it on TV. The next day, a false excuse was made, saying there was going to be an attack on him. The truth is that the Prime Minister could not stand in Parliament and then directly call Trump. Why did he do this?” the Raebareli MP asked.Cornering the central government over General MM Naravane’s unpublished book, Rahul Gandhi said: “Former Army chief General MM Naravane (Retd) wrote a book mentioning that when the Chinese tanks were entering the Indian boundary, he called Rajnath Singh for the orders, but did not get an answer. He said that even Ajit Doval and S Jaishankar did not answer… The decision of war is taken by the Prime Minister, but the PM did not answer, he hid in his room and asked the Army Chief to do whatever he deems fit... The Army Chief wrote that he was left alone by the Indian government that day.”“Decision to go to war is political, not a military one,” the Congress leader said.