Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of creating a false narrative with the aim of provoking the farmers of India. Responding to the video released on social media by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (February 13), Goyal dismissed it as a dramatic event carried out by Congress workers pretending to be real farmer leaders.
Rahul Gandhi had alleged that “any trade agreement that takes away the livelihood of farmers or weakens the food security of the country is anti-farmer.” He was referring to the recent India-US Framework Agreement for bilateral trade, which is expected to be signed after amendments by the end of March.
Piyush Goyal opposed Rahul Gandhi’s claims and said that the Narendra Modi government has completely protected the interests of farmers, fishermen, MSMEs and artisans. He clarified that no concessions have been given to sensitive crops like soybean and maize in the agreement, which will protect local farmers from competitive pressures. He also criticized the opposition for repeatedly making baseless allegations to spread unnecessary fear among the villagers.
On special claims related to apple and walnut imports, Goyal, while giving technical information, said that India already imports about 5,50,000 tonnes of apples every year due to high domestic demand, but the new US agreement does not allow unlimited entry. Instead, a strict quota has been set, which is much lower than the current import level, and a minimum import price (MIP) of Rs 80 per kg has been imposed. With the additional duty of Rs 25, the landing price of US apples will be around Rs 105 per kg, which is much higher than the current average landing price of Rs 75 per kg for apples coming from other countries, so Indian growers will not suffer the loss of lower prices.
Similarly, for walnuts, the US has been given a limited quota of only 13,000 MT against India’s total annual import requirement of 60,000 MT, thereby eliminating the possibility of loss to local producers.
Goyal reminded the public that during the Congress-led UPA government, India had imported agricultural products worth about $20 billion, including dairy products, which the current administration has strictly kept out of the US agreement. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to clarify on the betrayal of farmers and raised the question as to how long will the opposition continue to spread false stories.
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