NEW DELHI: Upping the ante
against the government over the India-US interim trade deal. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday posed a string of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that "we are witnessing a betrayal" of Indian farmers.
Gandhi, who has been attack-ing the government and accus-ing it of a sell-out through the deal, said this issue concerns the future and asked whether India is allowing another country to gain a long-term hold over India's agriculture industry.
"In the name of a US trade deal, we are witnessing a betrayal of Indian farmers," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in his post in Hindi on X. Posing questions to the Prime Minister, Gandhi asked what it means to import Dried Distillers' Grains (DDG).
"Does it mean that Indian cat-tle will be fed distillers' grains made from GM American corn? Won't this effectively make our milk products dependent on the US agricultural industry?" he questioned.
Gandhi further inquired that if India allows the import of GM soy oil, what would its implica-tions be on soy farmers in Mad-hya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and across the coun-try? "How will they withstand another price shock?" he asked."
When you say 'additional products', what does that include? Does this indicate pres-sure to open pulses and other crops to US imports over time?" he questioned.
He also asked, "What does it mean to remove 'non-trade bar-riers? Will India be pressured in the future to loosen its stance on GM crops, weaken procure ment, or reduce MSPs and bonuses?"
Gandhi expressed concern that once the door is opened, it may be difficult to keep it from opening wider each year.
"Will it be prevented, or will more crops gradually be put on the table each time?" Gandhi said, adding that farmers must receive this clarity. This isn't just about today. It's about the future too are we allowing another country to gain a long-term hold on India's agriculture industry?" he said.
the government of cheating cot-On Saturday, Gandhi accused ton farmers and textile export-India-US interim trade deal, not-ers in the country over the ing that the agreement could cause significant harm to both
