‘Modi sold the country’: Rahul Gandhi slams India–US trade deal

New Delhi: Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of bowing to pressure from the United States to finalise a trade deal, alleging that the agreement compromises the interests of Indian farmers and the country as a whole.

According to Indian media reports, Gandhi made the remarks while speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex after he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha.

“Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country,” Gandhi said.

Addressing farmers directly, he added, “In this trade deal, your hard work, blood and sweat — Narendra Modi has sold it. He has sold you, and he has sold the country. That is why I am not allowed to speak in Parliament.”

Gandhi said he was prevented from quoting an article that referred to unpublished memoirs of former Indian Army chief General M.M. Naravane.

Questioning the timing of the agreement, he said, “We need to understand why a trade deal that was stuck for about four months was suddenly finalised last evening,” alleging that there was “huge pressure” on Prime Minister Modi.

When asked to elaborate, Gandhi claimed the pressure was linked to a case against industrialist Gautam Adani in the United States and suggested that further disclosures could emerge from the Epstein files.

US President Donald Trump earlier announced a trade deal with India aimed at reducing tariffs, saying Prime Minister Modi had promised to stop purchasing Russian oil amid the war in Ukraine. Trump said tariffs on Indian goods would be cut to 18 percent. Previously, the US had imposed 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on several Indian products, along with an additional 25 percent levy over India’s oil imports from Russia.

The agreement eases months of tensions over India’s energy purchases, which Washington says help finance the conflict in Ukraine, and signals a restoration of close ties between Trump and Modi, whom the US president has described as “one of my greatest friends.”

While Prime Minister Modi thanked Trump for what he called a “wonderful” phone call and welcomed the easing of tariffs, he did not address Trump’s claim regarding the halting of Russian oil purchases.

Analysts suggest broader geopolitical developments may have played a role. Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Asia Policy Studies, said a recent EU–India agreement may have prompted Washington to move quickly.

“It is possible that the Indian trade agreement with the EU incentivised Washington to get to yes,” Madan told AFP, adding that “the devil will be in the details,” particularly regarding which sectors receive relief under the deal.