Piyush Goyal on why he spoke on India-US trade deal outside Parliament: 'Everyone saw what Opposition did'

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday chose to address the media instead of making a statement in Parliament, citing disruptions and alleged misconduct by Opposition members during House proceedings.

Goyal said he had intended to place his views before lawmakers but was prevented from doing so after what he described as repeated interruptions and disrespect to the Chair.

“I wanted to speak in Parliament but everyone saw the ugly picture that the Opposition led by Congress, along with the DMK, the TMC, and the Samajwadi Party painted in the House. They insulted the Chair, and I strongly condemn the act. Hence, I am speaking here instead of Parliament (sic),” he said.

“TMC, DMK and SP leaders along with Congress do not want our youth to get opportunities. Our industry wants to work, to move ahead in AI, semiconductors and critical minerals. The United States can help us. High-quality, high-performance data centres can come. We can attract lakhs of crores of investment in India,” he said.

Questioning the Congress leader, Goyal asked, “Is Gandhi bothered? Does he hate the development of India and cannot see the bright future of our youth? He has to answer what he wants from this negative thinking.” He added, “I condemn him and all his supporters in these parties that they are spreading pathetic thought. He does not want development, he wants anarchy. Look at his attitude in Parliament.”

Goyal further alleged, “He does not believe our Army, he questions the Army, he wants to ruin our industry’s future.” He said it was time that “people like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Udhayanidhi Stalin, leaders of the Communist Party and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav are held accountable for their negative mindset,” adding that “they are against development and against the bright future of India and are making baseless allegations.”

Also read: 'Rahul Gandhi hates India's progress, trying to mislead nation on India-US trade deal': Piyush Goyal

The minister used the opportunity to strongly back Prime Minister Narendra Modi for concluding the India–US trade arrangement and thanked him for what he called a people-centric agreement.

“Every India is thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he signed a very good trade deal with United States keeping in mind the public interest for a strong future of India,” Goyal said, adding, “On behalf of 140 crore India, I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulate him that evey poor, famer, rural youth, women, fishermen, for everyone this will bring benefit.”

He also underlined that the negotiations had taken months and involved difficult subjects, including reciprocal tariffs that had earlier reached 50 per cent.

“For months, our negotiating teams were speaking with the officials and ministers of the United States. There were lots of problems and difficult subjects. 50% reciprocal tariffs were imposed, our industrialists, marine exporters wanted the rate to reduce,” Goyal said.

The minister alleged that Opposition parties, led by Congress and joined by allies such as DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party, were attempting to mislead the public and downplay what he termed a major diplomatic and economic achievement. He criticised Rahul Gandhi for “double standards repeatedly” and accused him of having a “negative mindset”.

“This grade deal has brought good message for India’s bright future,” Goyal said, asserting that labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, marine products, auto components and engineering goods would gain new opportunities in the American market.

He further claimed that agriculture and dairy interests had been protected, saying the government had consistently prioritised farmers’ welfare.

“In US trade deal also, agri and dairy interest have been taken care of,” he said.

Separately, a top finance ministry official said the pact would deepen engagement between the two economies. Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava stated, “India-US trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world. It will create more opportunities for our labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market and give impetus to mutually-beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors.”

The agreement follows a phone conversation between Modi and US President Donald Trump, after which Trump announced that Washington would lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent.

Reacting to the announcement, Modi posted, “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 later described the arrangement as a “big decision” at a meeting of the NDA Parliamentary Party, according to coalition MPs present.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said there was widespread enthusiasm about the development.

“There is excitement among the MPs that nine trade deals have been concluded under the leadership of the PM… This is historic,” he said.

Goyal concluded by insisting that the deal was about more than tariffs, calling it a foundation for faster growth, higher investment and access to world-class technology, while reiterating that his inability to speak in Parliament was due solely to what he termed an “ugly picture” created by Opposition disruptions.