Rahul Gandhi Accuses PM Narendra Modi of 'Selling the Country' to US Under Pressure

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “selling the country” by conceding to the United States on agriculture, data and textiles under “pressure” linked to unreleased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein files and a criminal case in the US allegedly involving the Adani Group. Speaking at the Kisan Mahachaupal in Bhopal, Gandhi claimed these factors forced the Prime Minister to rush through the India–US trade agreement without Cabinet approval. Gandhi alleged that negotiations with the US had remained stalled for four months over agriculture, as the government had resisted opening Indian markets to American soy, cotton, maize and pulses. “No Indian farmer wants this, no politician wants this, and the Government of India also did not want this,” he said, adding that talks were “at a standstill” until the Prime Minister abruptly reversed course. Gandhi claimed Modi “ran out of the Lok Sabha” during the impasse and later phoned then US president Donald Trump directly to conclude the deal. “The truth is that the Prime Minister could not stand in Parliament,” Gandhi said, alleging that no Cabinet consultation took place. “Ask Shivraj Chauhan ji… ask Rajnath Singh ji, ask Gadkari ji, nothing was asked of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister directly called and said, ‘I am ready to do the deal.’” According to Gandhi, the agreement amounted to a betrayal of multiple sectors. “He sold India’s farmers. Sold India’s garment industry. Gave all of our data to America,” he said, describing the deal as “an arrow in the heart of the farmer.” The Congress leader attributed the government’s decision to what he described as two sources of pressure from the US. The first, he claimed, related to unreleased Epstein files. “In America, lakhs of Epstein files are lying closed… emails, messages, videos, everything,” Gandhi said, alleging that selective disclosures were being used to exert leverage. He went on to claim: “Anil Ambani is not my friend. Narendra Modi ji, you tell the country, what is your relationship with Anil Ambani? Anil Ambani is in the Epstein file. Hardeep Puri is in the Epstein file. And there are more names in the Epstein file that are still hidden. That is the first reason”. Gandhi also alleged that a criminal case in the US against industrialist Gautam Adani constituted a second, more serious threat. “Adani ji cannot go to America… he is afraid that if I go outside India… they will arrest me,” Gandhi said, before asserting that “the target of that case is not Adani… that arrow is being fired towards Narendra Modi ji.” He further accused the Prime Minister of conceding India’s strategic data advantage. “The 21st century is the century of data,” Gandhi said, arguing that India generates more data than any other country. “In this deal, in a small script at the back, Narendra Modi handed over all of India’s data to America,” he said. Gandhi also questioned why India did not withdraw from the agreement after the US Supreme Court struck down global tariffs imposed by Trump. “Other countries said, ‘We are also cancelling our deals’. But not a single word came out of Narendra Modi’s mouth,” he said, daring the Prime Minister to scrap the pact. “If you have the courage, do it. He cannot do this.” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed the attack, warning that the deal would devastate small and marginal farmers and cripple domestic industries. Drawing a contrast between American and Indian agriculture, Kharge said, “In our country, 65 percent of people depend on agriculture… here we have two acres, four acres—small and marginal farmers. And this small farmer of ours… Modi is destroying that today.” Kharge alleged that cheap American produce would be dumped in India, forcing farmers out of the market. “What will our farmers do? Where will they go?” he asked, accusing Modi of siding with Trump “not with the farmers.” He also criticised the government’s foreign policy posture, alleging capitulation on energy security. Referring to oil purchases from Russia and Iran, Kharge said Trump had threatened India, and “Modi said: ‘Yes sir”.” Calling the agreement unacceptable, Kharge said: “Any trade agreement by mortgaging national interest is not acceptable to us. An attack on the farmer’s bread is not acceptable… Compromising with India’s prosperity and self-reliance is not acceptable.” In response to these remarks, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav asked Gandhi whether he can “explain the difference between a Rabi and Kharif crop”. “Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of the state…The Congress committed injustice against farmers. During its 55 years of rule, the area under irrigation in the state was only 7.50 lakh hectares,” he alleged.