The Congress on Saturday, 21 February, demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi put the India-US interim trade agreement on hold and renegotiate the terms of the deal.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the government must state categorically that there will be no import liberalisation till clear cut clarifications from the American side and ensure that Indian farmers' interests are not hurt.
Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "compromised", saying his "betrayal" in the India-US interim trade deal stood exposed.
"The PM is compromised. His betrayal now stands exposed. He can't renegotiate. He will surrender again," Gandhi said in a post on X.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi a day after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's global tariffs, Ramesh said, "We demand that the PM should categorically state that we will not carry out import liberalisation after the Supreme Court decision as there is a rethink in India's policy and we will not carry out import liberalisation till clarifications are made," Ramesh said.
Ramesh also wanted to know what compelled Prime Minister Modi to ensure that Trump announced the trade agreement on the night of February 2?
"On February 2, President Trump made the announcement of the deal stating… a deal has been reached and on the request of the PM…," Ramesh said, adding that the chronology of events is important.
The first question that arises is why was Modi in a hurry to announce this?
"We believe this was connected with Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the Lok Sabha, raising the issue of China and former Army chief M.M. Naravane's book. We believe that in order to divert from that, PM Modi requested Trump to announce this," Ramesh said.
"Our second question is that when the PM, the commerce minister (Piyush Goyal), knew from December that any time (now) the Supreme Court verdict could come, many believed that it could be struck down. Why did you hurriedly strike a deal?" Ramesh asked.
Ramesh claimed that if Prime Minister Modi had not been so "desperate" to protect his "fragile image" and waited just 18 days more, Indian farmers would have been saved from the agony and distress, and Indian sovereignty would have been protected.
"Yesterday after the US Supreme Court struck down his tariffs policy, President Trump declared that (i) Mr. Modi is his great friend; (ii) the India-US trade deal will continue as announced; (iii) he had personally halted Operation Sindoor on May 10 2025 by threatening to increase tariffs on Indian exports to the US if India did not halt Operation Sindoor," Ramesh said on X on Saturday.
The party claimed that the agreement has become a difficult test for the country due to the Prime Minister's surrender.
