Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reacted sharply to the India-US trade deal announced last night, saying Prime Minister Modi had compromised India's interests.
“Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country,” Gandhi said, speaking to reporters at Parliament after walking out of the Lok Sabha, where his speech was disrupted by BJP-led NDA members, leading to adjournment.
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Naravane's book, again
The ruckus in the Lok Sabha came about after a brief restart of the proceedings on Tuesday, when Rahul Gandhi sought to raise the issue of the Modi government's handling of India-China border tensions, by again quoting from a magazine article that cites an unpublished book by former Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane.
The book's being unpublished — pending government approval — was cited as the reason for not allowing him to cite it on Monday too. That issue returned on Tuesday, and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the Speaker has already cited rules to stop such quoting.
Rahul Gandhi then asked the chair, “If I can not quote from this magazine article, then I can at least describe what he (Gen Naravane) said.”
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi then asked the chair, “If I can not quote from this magazine article, then I can at least describe what he (Gen Naravane) said.”
{{/usCountry}}“No, you cannot. This issue is already settled,” said Krishna Prasad Tenneti, an Andhra Pradesh MP from NDA constituent Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was in the chair in the absence of Speaker Om Birla.
‘Yaar’ fuels ruckus
Congress MPs, most prominently KC Venugopal seated next to Rahul Gandhi, raised their pitch and said Rahul was only talking about national security, the ruling NDA members retaliated with shouting too.
When Venugopal said, "What is this, yaar?, the chairperson was agitated at Venugopal using the word “yaar”, slang for friend.
“This is a Parliament! What is this (word) ‘yaar’?” Krishna Prasad Tenneti reacted from the chair.
Congress MP Manish Tewari was then heard asking rhetorically: “What is the problem with the word ‘yaar’?”
The chair adjourned the House after this.
Outside, Rahul Gandhi spoke to reporters.
‘Modi ji is scared’
In a video he posted on his X handle, Rahul told reporters, in Hindi, “I want to say three things. I am not allowed to say the first thing. PM Modi is rattled.”
“Did you see the trade deal? The trade deal (negotiation) was suspended for four months. Nothing has changed. For some reason — Narendra Modi knows what I know — he signed the deal yesterday evening. He is under a lot of pressure. Narendra Modi's image built with thousands of crores of rupees can break,” he further said.
“The main thing is that our Prime Minister has been compromised. Who has done it? How has he done it? The people of India have to think about this. But, for the first time in history, the LOP has not been allowed to speak at the Presidential Address.”
“And, the farmers of India, you all, have to understand this. In this trade deal, your hard work, blood and sweat — Narendra Modi has sold it. And he has sold it because he is compromised. He has not only sold you, he has sold the country. That is why I am not allowed to speak there (in Parliament),” he alleged.
He said “people who have made his image”, are now “breaking that image”.
He added, "There is a case on Adani ji in the United States. That is one. The second is Epstein files. There is more material in them, but has not been released yet. The case on Adani ji is actually a case on Modi ji. Because, it is BJP's financial structure. It is Modi ji's financial structure. So, these are the two pressure points. And the country should understand, that the Prime Minister is compromised."