Rahul Gandhi demands PM Modi reply to 5 ‘simple queries’ on India-US trade deal | India News
New Delhi: Resuming his onslaught against the India-US trade deal, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked five “simple questions” that he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must answer because “farmers deserve clarity” if “we are going to give another country a long-term grip on India’s agricultural system”.Rahul asked if the provisions of the interim trade agreement, as mentioned in the joint statement, suggest that India will import pulses and grains not expressly mentioned in the statement, and if India opens the hitherto closed door through which the US can put more items on the table for India to import in the future. He asked what would happen to soya farmers in MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and other states in the country if India imports GM soya oil from the US and if farmers survive “another price shock”.
He asked the Prime Minister to clarify what are the “surplus goods” mentioned in the statement for duty reduction or elimination. “Does this signal pressure to open pulses and other sensitive crops to US imports over time?” Congress MP asked. Referring to the proposed importation of DDG, Rahul asked whether feeding Indian cattle distillers grains made with GM American corn “will not effectively integrate our dairy chain with the US agricultural system”.Rahul also urged the Prime Minister to clarify that removing the “non-tariff barrier” meant that India would be pressured to weaken its stance against GM crops, weaken procurement or weaken MSPs and bonuses in future.
