'Criminal activity': Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over Indo-US trade deal; targets PM Modi

Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Indo-US trade deal, alleging that opening India’s agricultural market to American farmers would severely harm domestic growers.

Addressing a gathering, Gandhi said India’s progress rests on the strength of its farmers and warned against policies that could weaken them.

“India can only be successful if our foundation, our farmer, is respected and protected. Now, if we are sitting here and suddenly somebody came with a JCB and started digging the foundation of this building, everybody would stop him and say, you've gone crazy. Everybody would say to him, listen, don't use this JCB because the whole building will collapse. Indian farmers have small farms and low level of mechanization. American farmers have massive farms and high level of mechanization. It is a criminal act to allow access to the Indian agricultural market for American farmers...” Gandhi said.

Drawing a comparison between Indian and American agriculture, he argued that farmers in India operate on smaller landholdings with limited mechanisation, while their US counterparts benefit from large-scale farms and advanced technology.

Gandhi accused the government of jeopardising the livelihood of Indian farmers by permitting greater access to American agricultural products under the trade arrangement. He maintained that such a move would undermine the country’s rural economy and threaten its foundational strength.