Farm union leaders meet Rahul, express dissent to deal

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met farm union leaders from across the country in the Parliament House complex on Friday and discussed with them the need for a countrywide movement to oppose the India-US interim trade deal as well as safeguarding the livelihoods of farmers and farm labourers.

Posting a video of the meeting on X and taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said, “Narendra ‘surrender’ Modi has betrayed India’s farmers -- and they understand this.”

“This is not just a trade agreement, but a direct attack on the livelihoods of our food providers. At a meeting with a delegation of farmers’ unions in Parliament today, the concerns were evident.

Farmers, already struggling with inflation, rising costs and uncertainty over MSPs, are now being pitted against foreign crops equipped with heavy subsidies and mechanical power, unprepared,” he said in his post in Hindi.

This is not a fight based on equal terms, but one-sided pressure, Gandhi said.

“The government’s hollow assurances will no longer work. The future of farmers cannot be compromised without their consent,” the Congress leader asserted.

He said no matter what happens, the Congress and he stand with India’s food providers for their rights, security and dignity.

During the meeting, the farm union leaders expressed their opposition to the India-US trade deal and conveyed their deep concern for the livelihoods of the corn, soybean, cotton, fruits and nuts growers, the Congress said.

Gandhi told the farmers that the trade deal has opened the door for agricultural imports and that many other crops would soon follow, according to the Opposition party.

The farm leaders and the former Congress chief discussed the need for a large-scale national movement to oppose the deal and safeguard the livelihoods of farmers and farm labourers, it added.