Hyderabad, February 15 Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Sunday that Rahul Gandhi is the only leader who has questioned the Centre over the “incompetent and compromised” trade deal with the US.
Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to "sabotage India's growth story with his politics of negativity".
Referring to the India-US trade deal, the CM in a post on 'X', said that India is a nation of farmers, and that to "betray and sell out farmers is to betray and sell out the country itself".
He further said that historically, setting aside political differences, the entire Indian polity has united to defend farmers.
He asserted that national sovereignty, security, foreign policy, and the interests of farmers are above politics.
"Today, only one leader is standing up for Indian farmers—Shri Rahul Gandhi—and questioning the Central government over an incompetent, compromised and botched surrender in the name of a trade deal. It's time for us to remember—Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Samvidhan (hail the soldier, hail the farmer, and hail the Constitution)," the chief minister said.
Kishan Reddy slammed the Congress leader, alleging that his remarks were aimed at "misleading and scaring" farmers and exporters about the agreement.
"Rahul Gandhi's fearmongering, through which he is misleading farmers and exporters, will not work again, as the facts are contrary to his statements," he said.
"India exports textiles worth Rs 4 lakh crore today. Our nine Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), covering 38 developed countries, have opened up a potential textile market of Rs 45 lakh crore," he added.
The BJP leader said that the FTA with the US, along with other FTAs, will significantly boost exports and create ample employment opportunities, particularly in Telangana, where the Modi government is developing the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal as one of the seven mega textile parks in the country.
"Does Rahul Gandhi want jobs to come to Telangana or not?" he asked.
The union minister alleged that Rahul Gandhi was attacking textile exporters while trying to scare Indian farmers by claiming that cotton demand would fall.
"Indian farmers need not worry, as there is huge potential for growth in our textile sector, and the demand for Indian cotton will continue to rise, increasing farmers’ income," he said.
The BJP leader added that Rahul Gandhi’s family ran the Congress-led government between 2004 and 2014, during which "several compromises were made at the expense of India’s national interest".
The Congress government had even committed to "abolishing" MSP on grains and cotton by 2017 at the 2013 World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Bali, he claimed.
"It was only after the Modi government came to power that the WTO agreed not to challenge the public stockholding programmes of developing country members for food security purposes," he added.
"The Congress should be ashamed of the gross injustice it has done to farmers. In 2013, it publicly admitted that it would not implement the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), constituted under the chairmanship of Dr M S Swaminathan," Kishan Reddy claimed.
The commission had recommended that MSP should be at least 50 per cent higher than the cost of production. "However, this recommendation was not accepted by the Congress-led UPA government. It was the Modi government that ensured MSP factored in the cost of production," he added.
He further said that Rahul Gandhi has lost a series of elections and that his "hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi" has turned into "hatred for India".
The union minister alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s "bundle of lies and deception," which he is using to mislead farmers, would "fail miserably, just like his earlier attempts."
