BJP Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations on India-US Trade Deal as ‘Baseless and Misleading’

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday strongly rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the proposed interim trade agreement between India and the United States. The party termed Gandhi’s remarks as “absurdly false” and accused him of lowering the dignity of Parliament by using “street-level language” during the Lok Sabha debate.

The BJP’s response came after Gandhi, while participating in the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, launched a sharp attack on the Modi government. He alleged that the government had “sold Bharat Mata” through the trade deal and claimed that the agreement reflected “complete surrender,” compromising India’s energy security and farmers’ interests in favour of the United States.

BJP Accuses Gandhi of Distorting Facts

Reacting to Gandhi’s statements, BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni posted a series of remarks on social media platform X, accusing the Congress leader of choosing “drama over truth.” Baluni stated that Gandhi not only criticised the agreement but also misquoted and misread official documents to build a misleading narrative.

Baluni further alleged that Gandhi’s claims were based on an outdated fact sheet issued by the US government, which earlier mentioned India’s proposed purchase of goods worth 500 billion US dollars as a binding commitment. He clarified that the language in the document had later been amended, and India had merely expressed an intention, not a compulsory obligation.

“India has indicated an intent to purchase goods worth up to 500 billion dollars over the coming years. This is not a legally binding commitment,” Baluni said, calling Gandhi’s allegations “completely unfounded.”

Sudhanshu Trivedi Calls Remarks ‘Irresponsible’

BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also criticised Gandhi’s statements, calling them “baseless” and “irresponsible.” Trivedi accused Gandhi of adopting “unparliamentary language and behaviour” and said such remarks had lowered the standards of political discourse.

In a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Trivedi compared Gandhi to “the most intelligent fool,” remarking that if King James I was once described as “the wisest fool of the Christian world,” then Rahul Gandhi could be considered “the wisest fool of the Congress.”

He added that if Gandhi had even a basic understanding of diplomacy and economic policy, he would not make such “reckless and imaginary” allegations.

BJP Rejects Claim of Data Being Sold

Baluni also rejected Gandhi’s claim that Indian data would be handed over to the United States. He highlighted that the Union Budget proposes tax benefits for companies establishing data centres in India up to 2047, which would promote data localisation.

According to Baluni, the establishment of more data centres within India would strengthen India’s IT sector, increase employment opportunities, and ensure that the data of 1.4 billion Indians remains within the country.

“More data centres in India means greater opportunity for Indian companies and stronger data security. It will help India achieve long-term data localisation,” he said.

Supply Chain Strengthening Measures Highlighted

Countering Gandhi’s criticism that the budget lacks proposals to strengthen supply chains during global instability, Baluni said the government is actively working towards improving supply resilience.

He noted that India imports pulses worth more than 2 billion US dollars annually, with the figure reaching 2.6 billion dollars in 2023. On cotton imports, he said that although the US is one of the exporters, India imports more cotton from countries like Brazil and Australia, and overall cotton imports account for only one-tenth of India’s domestic cotton production.

BJP Maintains Gandhi’s Allegations Are Politically Motivated

The BJP maintained that Gandhi’s statements were politically motivated and aimed at misleading the nation. The party insisted that the India-US trade engagement is being pursued in India’s national interest, without compromising the country’s sovereignty, farmers, or economic security.