E-Paper
‘Talk to us as equals’: Rahul Gandhi's message to Trump over India-US trade deal
LoP Rahul Gandhi slammed the central government over the India-US trade deal and accused the Centre of ‘selling’ the nation.
Following weeks of ruckus in the Parliament over Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's address and mention of former army chief General (retired) MM Naravane's unpublished memoir, the Congress leader on Wednesday spoke in the Lower House once again. This time, he raised the Opposition's reservations regarding the India-US trade deal, delivering a message to American President Donald Trump, “talk to us as equals”.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget session, Rahul Gandhi also mentioned the India-US trade deal, saying that the key to protecting the American dollar is Indian data.
"One thing I would like to make clear, in a contest between the US and China, the single most valuable asset is Indian data. If the Americans want to remain a superpower and if the Americans want to protect their dollar, the key to that is Indian data," Gandhi stated.
WATCH:
The Congress leader further presented a situation that if the Opposition, the INDIA group, were negotiating with US President Donald Trump, then the first thing they would say is that "the most important thing in this equation is Indian data".
'You won't talk to us as your servants'
"You want to protect your dollar, we are your friends, we appreciate you, we want to help you protect your dollar, but please remember that if you want to protect your dollar, the biggest asset that can protect your dollar is lying with the Indian people," said Rahul Gandhi in his message to Trump.
From the Lok Sabha, Gandhi told Trump that if the US wants access to the Indian data, "please understand that you are going to talk to us as an equal. You are not going to talk to us as if we are your servants".
The LoP said that the Opposition will ask the US President to understand that India's energy security is solely India's and that no matter what happens, the country will protect it.
Further, Gandhi stated that the Opposition would also tell Trump that if the US wants to protect its farmers, "we will also protect our farmers".
"But the main thing I am saying is that an INDI alliance government would go there and say that data is our biggest strength. Now let us talk, meaning, we would go there as equals," the LoP said in Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi asserted that India would "not be equal to Pakistan", adding that if Trump decides that the Pakistani army chief is "going to have breakfast with him, then we would have something to say about that".
ALSO READ | 'An order from Washington’: How Opposition reacted to India-US joint statement on trade deal
The Congress leader slammed the central government, saying, "You have sold India".
"Are you not ashamed of selling India? Do you have no shame in selling India? You have sold our mother, Bharat Mata," Rahul Gandhi added. He stated that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not "sell India under normal circumstances", alleging that he is being choked.
His remarks drew heavy objection from the Centre, with Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju strongly opposing Rahul Gandhi's statements about India and PM Modi. He said, "First of all, no man has taken birth in this universe who can touch or sell India. Secondly, the country has never seen a Prime Minister better than PM Modi."
