‘Negative-minded, rejected leaders misleading India’: Piyush Goyal slams Rahul Gandhi over US trade deal remarks

Union Minister Piyush Goyal slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying that it was regrettable that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha was trying to mislead the nation on the India-US trade deal. Rahul Gandhi, Goyal said, has nothing to do with India's progress.

“Wanted to give information on the US-India trade deal in Parliament, but Rahul Gandhi, the opposition, behaved so disgracefully,” said Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, addressing a press conference in the capital on Tuesday.

Goyal said the final details of the trade deal are being worked out, and the India-US joint statement will be issued shortly.

Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after repeated adjournments on Tuesday amid protests and sloganeering by opposition members over the recently announced India-US trade deal. At least eight Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) have been suspended for ‘unruly’ behaviour

“... It is a great misfortune that negative-minded leaders like Rahul Gandhi are trying to mislead or confuse the country today. I condemn Rahul Gandhi's lies and deceit. He wants to mislead people, but it won't work. The country is moving forward,” Goyal said.

President Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25%. Trump said this after a phone conversation with PM Modi, announced by the US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who joined last month.

"They have no interest in making India the world's fastest-growing economy. During the ten years of Congress rule in the UPA government, they ruined the economy, troubled the people, and halted development," the minister said.

After Trump's announcement on Truth Social, PM Modi wrote in an X post that he was delighted that “made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%”.

“Rahul Gandhi is a person with a negative approach. India is marching ahead. He is not interested in this. He wants to take India back to the UPA days when we were among the five fragile economies. I do not think even an Indian citizen would agree with his misleading mindset,” he said, accusing Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of trying to unleash political anarchy.

'Rejected' politicians who will be rejected by people'

“In the Parliament, he doesn't trust our army soldiers; he questions our army. I think people should hold leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee of TMC, MK Stalin of DMK… will be held accountable for the negativity and blame game,” Goyal said, calling the INDIA bloc leaders a group of 'rejected' politicians who will again be rejected by people for their ‘anti-national’ acts.

In December, Goyal was appointed as the BJP election in-charge for the forthcoming elections in Tamil Nadu. Elections in Tamil Nadu are slated later this year, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties are challenging the ruling DMK-Congress alliance in the state.

'PM Modi buckled under US pressure'

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has buckled under US pressure to finalise a trade deal and has 'sold out' the hard work of Indian farmers through the agreement.

"We need to understand why a trade deal stuck for about four months was suddenly finalised last evening," Gandhi said, adding that “there was huge pressure on Prime Minister Modi.”

Addressing reporters in the Parliament House complex after he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha as he insisted on quoting from an article that cited former Army chief MM Naravane's unpublished "memoir", Rahul Gandhi said it is for the first time in history that the Leader of Opposition has not been allowed to speak on the president's address.

Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Modi "has been compromised" and that Indian farmers must understand their hard work, as well as their blood and sweat, has been "sold out" through the India-US trade deal. He also said the entire country had been “sold out”.

(With agency inputs)