Rahul Gandhi alleges US pressure on PM over trade deal, says Indian farmers being “sacrificed”
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that US President Donald Trump had used the Epstein files to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi into signing a trade deal that would “sacrifice” Indian farmers.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was speaking at a farmers’ convention in Peravoor, Kannur district.
He said the simple fact that farmers are the foundation of India is not understood by the government.
He said lengthy lectures were delivered about IT and other sectors, but nothing could be built without strengthening the foundation.
“If you do not respect the foundation, nothing can be built. The person who builds the foundation does not have respect or protection. We eat food every day but do not remember who puts it on our table,” he said.
Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had signed a deal with the US President that was “like digging the foundation”.
“Indian farmers are small farmers with low levels of mechanisation. American farmers have massive farms and high levels of mechanisation. It is a criminal act to allow access to Indian markets for American companies,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed that no previous prime minister would have allowed American farmers to sell products such as soybeans, vegetables and fruits in India.
“It will destroy the foundation of Indian agriculture. The Green and White Revolutions happened for farmers,” he said.
According to him, the India-US deal had been stalled for four months due to disagreements over agriculture.
“The Indian government did not want to open agriculture to American companies. Nothing was moving, and the US President was threatening the Prime Minister,” he alleged.
He further claimed that he was not allowed to speak in Parliament after the President’s address because he intended to raise two issues.
“One issue was about 3.5 million Epstein files that are yet to come out, which are held secret by the US government and allegedly contain information about the Prime Minister of India. The second was the Adani case in America,” he said.
The Union government had rejected references to PM Modi in the latest Jeffrey Epstein case files, describing it as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal that deserves to be dismissed with the utmost contempt".
He alleged that a case had been registered against the Adani Group in the US and that it was linked to the PM.
“These are the reasons why the Prime Minister is ready to destroy the foundation of India. Indian farmers are being sacrificed so that the Prime Minister can protect himself and the financial structure of the BJP,” Gandhi alleged.
He said the Congress would not allow farmers of India and Kerala to be sacrificed.
Referring to Kerala, Gandhi said a manifesto was being prepared that would incorporate public issues, and that any future UDF government should remember that its foundation lay in farmers and labourers.
“The government should go to farmers as a service provider. Farmers need support prices, cold chains and storage facilities. They need protection in difficult times,” he said.
Gandhi, a former MP from Wayanad, said he had witnessed the tragedy of man-animal conflict in the region and described it as a "complex issue" that could be resolved.
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Mumbai Metro lines 9 and 2B open for commuters
Mumbai (PTI): Commercial operations on the first phases of Mumbai Metro corridors 9 and 2B began on Wednesday morning, a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the mass-transit routes, officials said.
While the Metro 9 marks the first direct connectivity between a suburb in Mumbai and a part of Thane city in the metropolitan region, the Line 2B will provide the first metro connectivity on the Harbour Line in Mumbai.
The 5.6-km elevated Phase 1 stretch of Metro Line 9 comprises four stations -- Dahisar East, Pandurangwadi, Miragaon and Kashigaon. The 5.53-km Phase 1 of Metro Line 2B has five stations, including Deshbhakt N G Acharya Udyan (Diamond Garden), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk, Deonar, Mankhurd and Maharashtra Nagar–Mandale.
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According to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Line 9 is expected to cut travel time between Mira-Bhayandar in Thane district and Mumbai to around 30 minutes from the current one to two hours. Built at Rs 6,607 crore, it will eventually provide seamless connectivity to south Mumbai through interlinking with other lines.
With the addition of the two new lines, Mumbai’s operational Metro network has expanded to six corridors, including Line 1 (Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova), Line 2A (Andheri West-Dahisar East), Line 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) and the underground Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra Kurla Complex-SEEPZ).
As per MMRDA, the revised timetable for Line 2A and Line 7 came into effect on Wednesday, aimed at improving frequency, predictability and overall commuter experience.
It said that with the inauguration of Line 9, Metro Line 2A will now operate as a standalone corridor between Andheri West and Dahisar East, with services from 5.50 am till around 11 pm and a peak frequency of about six minutes.
The integrated Line 7-9 corridor (Gundavali to Kashigaon), spanning 19.79 km, will operate from 5.50 am to 11 pm, with a peak frequency of under six minutes and 276 services on weekdays.
Metro Line 2B (Phase 1) services commenced at 6 am and will run till around 10.30 pm at intervals of approximately nine-and-a-half minutes, operating 209 services daily, according to officials.
MMRDA said the integration of Line 7 with Line 9 enables direct connectivity from Andheri East to Mira-Bhayandar, while Lines 2A and 7 will function as separate corridors.
A seamless interchange facility at Dahisar station will allow passengers to switch between Lines 2A and 7 without exiting the “paid” (ticketed) area.
