‘Congress’s irresponsible behaviour’: Nadda says Govt will make suo motu statement on India-US deal, Oppn stages walkout
The Congress party has demanded complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions about several key aspects, including claims that the agriculture sector is being opened up.
Even as the Opposition aims to corner the government in Parliament over the India-US trade deal announced late Monday, Union Minister JP Nadda announced in Rajya Sabha Tuesday that the government will make a suo motu statement on the issue in the House, and is also ready to hold a discussion.
Amid sloganeering from the Opposition over the India-US deal, Nadda, also the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, said, “Late last night, the US President tweeted on tariffs and referred to PM Modi as a true friend. After this, the PM tweeted, thanking the US President and on trade. The government will issue a suo motu statement on this trade deal and also hold a discussion on it.”
He also lashed out at the Congress party over its objection to the trade deal. “When the government is ready to give a detailed statement, this attitude of Congress and the INDI alliance is wrong. Their way is threatening to democracy. This is Congress’s irresponsible behaviour. It is their frustration which is speaking,” he said.
India and the US reached a trade agreement late on Monday that reduced tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, as announced by President Donald Trump on a social media post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, thanked the American president.
However, Congress has demanded complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions about several key aspects, including claims that the agriculture sector is being opened up, calls for tariffs to be reduced to “zero”, and a pause in the purchase of Russian oil, as Trump has claimed.
In Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the trade deal soon after the Zero Hour ended, and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead.
As Opposition MPs began protesting in the House, Nadda said Trump informed about the reduction in tariffs on Indian goods on social media and also spoke to PM Modi. He alleged that the Opposition’s frustration was coming out, and it had started seeing bad in even good things.
Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said that when the government is making a statement, Opposition MPs should listen. He said the government is ready to discuss, but the Opposition members are creating an uproar.
Nadda said the government will issue a suo motu statement on Tuesday. “It is your frustration which is speaking. We are ready. Their interest is only in turning everything into politics, and we saw an example of that just now…They are trying to create an atmosphere in the country as if the government is avoiding a discussion,” he added.
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Members of several Opposition parties staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More