Rahul on Indo-US trade deal: PM buckled under pressure to sell out farmers' blood & sweat
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi buckled under US pressure to finalise a trade deal and “sold out” the hard work of the Indian farmers through the agreement.
Addressing reporters in the Parliament House complex after he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha as he insisted on quoting from an article that cited former Army chief M M Naravane's unpublished “memoir”, Gandhi also said that it is for the first time in history that the Leader of Opposition has not been allowed to speak on the president's address.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, “PM Modi is Compromised. PM is too afraid to let me speak in Parliament about Naravane, Epstein Files and how he has surrendered on Tariffs.”
Hitting back at the Congress and Gandhi, BJP MP Anurag Thakur asked whether the Congress and others in the opposition are with India's interest.
He also slammed Gandhi over his allegation that Prime Minister Modi buckled under US pressure to finalise the trade deal.
Speaking to reporters, Gandhi said the issue is not Naravane's statement, “that is a side show”, but the main thing is that “our prime minister has been compromised”.
“I want to say three things. They are not allowing me to speak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rattled. And the trade deal that had been stuck for the last four months, for some reason which Prime Minister Modi and I know, was sealed last evening,” he said.
Gandhi also claimed that Modi is under "enormous pressure", and his “image balloon” that had been inflated with thousands of crores could burst.
“The issue is not Naravane's statement, that is a side show, he (Modi) and I both know it. The main thing is that our prime minister has been compromised. Who has done it and how it has been done, the people of India have to think about it,” Gandhi said.
The Leader of Opposition also said the farmers of India must understand that there has been a “sell-out” of their hard work, as well as their blood and sweat, by Prime Minister Modi through this deal.
“He has sold it because he is compromised. He has not just sold you off, but the whole country. That is why they are not allowing me to speak,” Gandhi said, claiming that the prime minister is “scared”.
Asked what kind of pressure he was referring to, Gandhi said there is a case against industrialist Gautam Adani in the US and a lot more is to come in the Epstein files matter.
“There is a case on Adani in the US… That is not targeting Adani but Modi's financial structure. The Epstein files have more matter,” Gandhi said.
The Epstein files refer to thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Gandhi also called the pressure of the Epstein files and the case against Adani the two “pressure points” for the government.
In another X post in Hindi, Gandhi said, "For the first time in history, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is not being allowed to speak on a serious issue like national security.”
“Why is Mr Modi so rattled by General Naravane's statement and the Epstein case,” he asked.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the US has stated that American farmers' products will now be sold in the Indian market, bringing money to rural America.
“India's millions of farmers want to know what the terms of this trade agreement are? Is the Modi government planning to fully open the Indian agricultural sector to America? Will the government thrust Indian farmers into direct competition with American companies? Has a compromise been made on the interests of our farmers? The situation must be clarified immediately before the public,” she said.
India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, US President Donald Trump said on Monday after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi.
Modi said he was delighted that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent".
“Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," the prime minister said.
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Karnataka Police seize 1,220 Kerala lottery tickets worth Rs 72,000
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka police seized 1,220 Kerala lottery tickets valued at approximately Rs 72,000 that were being transported for illegal resale, officials said on Tuesday.
They were seized by law enforcement personnel, who intercepted a vehicle carrying the tickets on a route from Bandadka in neighbouring Kerala towards Karnataka, police sources said.
According to police, the accused had allegedly purchased the lottery tickets across the Kerala border and was moving them to Sampaje for resale at marked-up prices, officials said.
The practice of transporting and selling lottery tickets from Kerala is banned under the Karnataka Lottery Prohibition Act, and authorities said the seizure was part of ongoing efforts to crack down on the illegal lottery trade.
The police detained the person found in possession of the tickets during checks conducted as part of regular surveillance near border areas and a case has been registered at the local police station, officials added.
Police noted that despite the state government's ban on lottery sales, Kerala State lottery tickets are often smuggled into Karnataka for unlawful resale, particularly in villages and towns along the Kerala-Karnataka border. Enforcement agencies have stepped up vigilance in recent months to curb the circulation of such tickets.
The arrested individual is likely to be charged under relevant sections of the Karnataka Lottery and Prize Competitions Control and Tax Act. Further investigation is underway, police said.
