In Kottayam, Rahul Gandhi slammed PM Modi's India-US trade deal, alleging he gave away the future of farmers and India's energy security, forcing the country to seek US permission to purchase oil from nations like Russia and Iran.
Gandhi Accuses PM of Compromising Farmers, Energy Security
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the India-US interim trade agreement, alleging that the latter has "given away" the future of farmers and the country's energy security.
The Congress leader accused PM Modi of opening India's agriculture sector to the international market and allowing the US to dictate its fuel procurement strategy to fulfil the country's energy needs. Addressing a public rally in Kottayam, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the State, Rahul Gandhi expressed concern that the US deal can negatively impact India's ability to navigate through the West Asia Conflict.
'India Cannot Buy Oil From Whom it Wants'
"Narendra Modi signed the US deal, where he gave away the future of India's farmers. He's the first PM in modern India history who has opened agriculture to the international market. He's the first PM of modern India who has given away our energy security. Today India cannot buy oil, diesel, petrol from whom it wants," he said.
"There's a financial earthquake that is coming due to what happened in the Middle East, but India, a country of 1.4 billion people, cannot buy oil from whom it wants. If India wants to buy oil from Russia, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, then it can only do so after taking permission from Donald Trump. There can be nothing more shameful than this. An independent country has to ask the US for permission to buy oil," he added. Rahul Gandhi warned that the "instability" of the West Asia conflict will affect the people of India. "There can be nothing more shameful than this. An independent country has to ask the US for permission from who to buy oil," he said.
Details of the Interim Trade Deal
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly targeted PM Modi over the interim deal, under which India agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
US Statement on Russian Oil Imports
The purchase of oil from Russia came under question as the White House, in a separate statement, said, "India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, has represented that it will purchase United States energy products from the United States, and has recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years."
As the West Asia conflict began, the US announced the 30-day waiver given to India to purchase Russian oil, which also sparked fresh allegations from Congress over the deal.
India's Official Stance
However, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had clarified that "national interest" would continue to guide India's energy-related decisions, underlining that the key drivers of the country's energy policy are "adequate availability, fair pricing and reliability of supply". (ANI)
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