Congress MP Pramod Tiwari slams PM Modi over trade deal announcement by US President Trump

New Delhi [India], February 3 (ANI): Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that all the decisions made by India are being announced by US President Donald Trump instead of PM Modi himself, underlining that it affects the self-respect of the country.
Speaking on the India-US trade agreement, which reduced the tariff from a hefty 50 per cent to 18 per cent, he said, "Looking at recent events, it seems as if India's capital has shifted from New Delhi to Washington, DC, and PM Modi has gone on a long vacation. We are learning about all of India's decisions from Washington, DC, and its President Donald Trump, who is making the announcements... Prime Minister, your silence is troubling us. This is against the self-respect of the country, against its sovereignty, and against its glorious history. Take action and speak the truth; we want to hear it from you, in the Indian Parliament, and in the country's capital, Delhi."
Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari highlighted that according to US President Trump, India has agreed to buy oil from Venezuela instead of Russia, along with the 18 per cent tax; however, American exports to India will have a zero per cent tariff.
"President Trump's social media post has very portentous implications for India's national security. In my recently released book, I had categorically said that India should not have changed its energy profile in March of 2022, that is, start buying discounted Russian oil. The government's defence at that time was that if we were getting cheaper oil from any source, then we would go ahead and buy it. Now, President Trump says India has agreed to buy no oil from Russia, so we will buy oil from Venezuela. In addition to that, while Indian imports will be taxed at 18%, American exports to India will have zero per cent tariff..." he said.
Further, criticising the Prime Minister, he underlined that, as per the US Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, India has agreed to unprecedented access to its agricultural market for exportation in US. Tiwari stressed that such integral information should have been announced by PM Modi and not the President of the United States.
"In a social media post, the US Secretary of Agriculture has claimed that India has given unprecedented access to its agricultural markets for the export of produce from the US. In addition to this, there is a commitment by India to buy USD 500 billion worth of energy, technology, agricultural products and other goods from the US. If you have the President of another country announcing contours of what is purportedly a bilateral trade deal, then it transgresses and infringes upon and undermines your strategic autonomy..." he said.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Congress demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects such as the opening of the agriculture sector, the reduction of tariffs to "zero" and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump.
In a post on X, Congress first questioned the manner of the deal announcement, then delved into the details shared by Donald Trump. The party said that reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to 'zero will "impact" India and also questioned how opening the agriculture sector would ensure the "security of farmers."
"Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done 'on Modi's request'," Congress said.
"Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to 'zero'. It seems India has agreed to completely open its market for America. This will impact the Indian industry, traders and farmers. There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How have the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?" they asked. (ANI)