Explained : Congress claimed on Saturday that the Indo-US trade pact is “not a deal but a surrender” of the country’s self-esteem and interests. and Its Impact

Amid criticism from opposition, the Congress claimed on Saturday that the Indo-US trade pact is “not a deal but a surrender” of the country’s self-esteem and interests, and that it is a betrayal of India and its people.

Addressing a press conference, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also claimed that India will soon become a dumping ground for American products and it will hurt the interests of the farmers and small and medium industries here.

“This deal is a betrayal to all that India stands for and all that India stood for over the last 75 years. This is not a deal which is in our interest. This is a total surrender by none other than Narender,” Khera said, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Congress leader added that he has proved that “Narender is surrender”.

“India has been made into a dumping ground by this deal. I do not want to call it a deal, as a deal is amongst equals and you sit across the table and negotiate. A deal cannot be with a gun held on your head…. It is blackmail, it is a surrender,” he said.Khera also alleged that US is dubbing India as a “thief” as it will keep a close watch on New Delhi buying oil from Russia and showed an order from the United States government.

The opposition party’s attack came soon after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India has not given any duty concessions on any dairy product and claimed that several Indian goods, including agricultural products, will attract zero reciprocal tariff in the US.India and the US announced on Saturday that they have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement, under which both sides will reduce import duties on a number of goods to boost the two-way trade.

Khera said this is not a pact with the US, but a “compromise with our self-esteem and the interests of our farmers and MSMEs and the middle-class”.Noting that India has become a dumping ground for the US and it has happened under Modi’s rule, he said, “With this deal, the back of farmers would be broken further and the coming days will prove how farming in the country would be destroyed due to this deal.” Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, Khera said it now works according to the US time, alleging that all decisions, whether on announcing a ceasefire of military conflicts or a trade deal, are taken in the US.

“The government is functioning in accordance with the American time zone and there cannot be anything more regrettable than this. A deal is between two partners sitting across the table and not due to blackmail.”That is called surrender. The name is Narender, the work is surrender. This deal has once again proved this,” Khera said, alleging that Modi has “surrendered” before the US.He said the Congress does not feel good when the prime minister “surrenders” before any other country as “it is unfortunate”.