File FIR or privilege motion, I will stand with farmers: Rahul slams govt on US trade deal
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted that the government can file cases or a privilege motion against him but he will stand strongly with farmers as he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "anti-farmer" and "selling" the country through the India-US interim trade deal.
Gandhi also alleged that there is a "chokehold" on Modi and his "reins" are in the hands of US President Donald Trump.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha shared a video statement on X in which he made a scathing attack on the government over the India-US interim trade deal.
In a post in Hindi on X along with the video, Gandhi said, "FIR is filed, a case is registered, or a privilege motion is brought -- I will fight for the farmers."
"Any trade deal that takes away the farmers' livelihood or weakens the country's food security is anti-farmer. We will not let the anti-farmer Modi government compromise on the interests of the food providers," he said.
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In his video, Gandhi said farmers are the foundation of the country.
"The Congress fought for food security and Narendra Modi has betrayed our food security and our farmers. By striking a deal with the US, he has sold cotton, soya, apple and fruit farmers. Since years, foreigners have been trying to capture our agriculture market," Gandhi said, adding that Modi has opened the door for them.
"This is the truth, he (Modi) also knows this. He has done this as there is a chokehold on his neck. Narendra Modi's reins are in the hands of Donald Trump," he alleged.
"Maize, cotton, soya bean and fruit farmers is only the beginning. Narendra Modi will open the doors to the entire agriculture market for his friends like Adani, Ambani and for foreign powers. The whole country and the farmers know that Narendra Modi is anti-farmer," he claimed.
Gandhi said Modi earlier had brought the "black farm laws" and now he has opened the doors of the agriculture market for foreign powers.
"American farmers have farm lands that are in acres, it is all mechanised and the government gives them subsidy. On the other hand the farms of our farmers are small, they don't get MSP and there is no mechanisation," the former Congress chief said in the video.
"Narendra Modi has sold the country and its farmers. You put cases against me, abuse me. do whatever you want, file a privilege motion, it does not matter to me, I have spoken the truth in Parliament, you may not like it that is a different matter, but the country knows the truth. Do whatever you want, I am standing with the farmers. I will not budge even an inch," Gandhi asserted.
"Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge ji, me, and the whole Congress are standing with the farmers, we will not let this injustice happen," he said.
Posting the video on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi alleged that "anti-farmer" Narendra Modi has sold the country's food providers, their blood and sweat, to Trump.
"Why is he always ready to sacrifice farmers? First, he introduced black laws to benefit his billionaire friends - now, to free himself from the American stranglehold on his own, he has opened the doors of Indian agriculture to Trump's America," he said.
"Tomorrow, these doors will be widened even further -- for those same billionaire friends, for other foreign powers," he alleged.
This new India-US trade deal calls for removing "non-tariff barriers" on American agricultural products, he pointed out.
"Opening the Indian market to foreign agricultural products is a direct attack on India's food security and the livelihoods of farmers," he asserted.
Farmers of cotton, soybeans, sorghum, fruits, and dried fruits are already at risk, he said.
"99.5% of India's farmers are small and poor - there is neither adequate support nor subsidies; the farmer bears the entire risk. In the United States, farming is done on a large scale, using machines, and the government provides heavy subsidies," he said.
If Indian farmers are forced to compete with cheap, subsidized American agriculture, they will not be able to survive, Gandhi argued.
"This means that American farmers will benefit, while Indian farmers will suffer ruin. In this agreement, farmers were not consulted. Parliament was not given complete information. The country was not told what had actually been decided," he said.
"For years, it was said, 'We will double farmers' income.' Not only did income not double, but now the farmers' very future has been put at stake. I and the Congress Party stand with the nation's food providers with all our strength," he said.
"We will fight from the streets to Parliament, in every village, on every platform-protecting India's farmers and the nation's food security," Gandhi said.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the Modi government, Gandhi, while participating in the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, claimed that Indian interests had been "surrendered" under the trade deal to protect the BJP's financial architecture.
Slamming the Indo-US deal, Gandhi drew 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.
Gandhi had underlined the need to protect the country's people, data, food supply and energy system.
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Mangaluru police flag fake ‘sea breeze marathon’ Instagram campaign, urge public caution
Mangaluru: Police have flagged a fake marathon campaign being widely circulated on Instagram under the name “Sea Breeze Marathon” and warned the public against falling prey to a suspected cyber fraud network.
The purported post, which began circulating on April 3, claims to offer prize money of Rs 2.51 lakh for a 5 km race, Rs 3.5 lakh for a 10 km race, and Rs 5 lakh for a 21 km race. It also urges participants to register in advance. However, officials have clarified that no such marathon has been organised in Mangaluru.
The poster also promises to provide participants with free sports shoes, goodies bags and refreshments, in order to lure people.
Police suspect that the poster is part of a cyber fraud attempt designed to lure users into registering through fraudulent links.
Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy cautioned that registering through such links could lead to mobile phone hacking and financial loss.
The campaign is also being amplified through a viral video featuring songs from popular movies, along with visuals of people participating in marathons, allegedly sourced from existing footage, giving the content a sense of authenticity and misleading people.
When Vartha Bharati conducted a reverse image search, the video was traced back to marathons held in Mumbai, further confirming that the circulating content is not related to any event in Mangaluru.
Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Commissioner Reddy confirmed that the campaign is fake and that no organisation has approached authorities seeking permission for conducting a marathon, including traffic or road clearances.
“So far, no complaint has been lodged, and no victim of the campaign has been reported,” he said.
