Mumbai, February 14 Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday described Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as "immature" and lacking an understanding of the economy, and accused the opposition party of spreading misinformation because it had no constructive agenda to criticize the Narendra Modi government.
Speaking to reporters here on the Union Budget, Goyal said Rahul Gandhi is "thousands of miles away from the truth" and asserted that "discredited leaders" like him may try, but would not be able to stop Prime Minister Modi and his service to the nation.
"The Congress is frustrated. It has no other scheme or solution except spreading misinformation and fabricated claims. It does not have any point to criticize us. They are trying to mislead our farmers by spreading wrong and false information," he said.
"I am confident that discredited leaders like Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and its allies, including TMC, DMK and SP, which are parties rejected by the people, can try hundreds of thousands of times, but nobody can stop PM Narendra Modi and his service to the nation," the minister further said.
The Mumbai North BJP MP in the Lok Sabha said the Congress has failed to understand its own limitations.
"Rahul Gandhi does not have any understanding of the economy, only tweeting false and misleading information on social media. He is thousands of miles away from the truth. India's cotton cultivation capacity and requirement both would grow. This policy of importing material and processing it for export is an old practice in global trade," the minister said.
When immature people come into politics, allegations of such levels are made, he said, attacking Rahul Gandhi over the latter's criticism of the Indo-US trade deal with regard to cotton cultivation and the textile sector.
Textiles are a shining example in the country's overall exports, accounting for nearly Rs 3.60 lakh crore of the total, which would more than double in the coming time, Goyal said, responding to a question.
"Among the FTAs that India has pushed forward in the last few months, the textile sector's contribution would be nearly USD half a trillion, which comes to about Rs 45 lakh crore. With the textile market now open for us, it will benefit us. The US alone procures textile products worth around Rs 9 lakh crore annually. Moreover, reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods have been reduced to 18 per cent from the earlier 50 per cent," he pointed out.
Roughly half of the total exports to the US from India will go at zero duty, and the 18 per cent tariffs on the rest are the lowest when compared to any other competing nation, Goyal asserted.
"We are lower than China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. India has received the lowest tariffs from the US compared to its competitors, and it has opened a USD 30 trillion market for India. I think it is a game-changer for the future progress of India," he said.
The Union minister also noted that the European Union procures around Rs 22-23 lakh crore worth of goods from India, adding that textile products would be exported at zero duty to markets such as the EU, New Zealand, and the UK.
"The US produces around 480 million bales of cotton every year, which is valued at Rs 1.25 lakh crore. It cannot damage the interests of India's cotton growers. The US exports around Rs 45,000 crore worth of cotton. In my guess, India's one region produces more cotton than that," the minister said.
The nation's demand for cotton is higher and rising, the senior BJP leader added.
Goyal said Bangladesh has been offered zero-duty access to the US market on the condition that it procures cotton from the US, and asserted that India was likely to receive similar treatment.
He said if Indian exporters purchase cotton or yarn from the US, process it in India and export the finished products back to the US, they could also avail zero-duty benefits.
The Union minister expressed confidence that Indian workers and producers would gain from such an arrangement.
"The provision was not new. For several years, the import of raw materials meant for processing and subsequent export has attracted zero duty. Such practices have been in place for many years. The Special Economic Zones Act introduced during the Congress regime had similar provisions," he said.
Goyal maintained that demand for cotton from Indian farmers would certainly increase and urged them to expand production and improve productivity.
