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Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “surrendering” earlier the United States, the Congress connected Monday (February 16, 2026) claimed that the India-U.S. interim commercialized statement undermines India’s vigor security, information and integer autonomy, livelihood of farmers and economical self-reliance.
The main Opposition enactment said it is acceptable to statement with the ruling enactment astatine a spot and clip of their choice.
“I person been instructed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi ji to spot the facts,” enactment wide caput Randeep Surjewala said, adding that helium was acceptable to statement with them “in the BJP bureau adjacent today”.
Mr. Surjewala was responding to the situation posed by Home Minister Amit Shah connected Sunday (February 15) for “Mr Gandhi to statement the commercialized woody with the chief of the BJP Yuva Morcha (youth wing)”.
At the sovereign’s cost
Addressing a property conference, Mr. Surjewala said commercialized agreements indispensable beryllium based connected parity and communal interest, not astatine the outgo of nationalist sovereignty.
“National involvement cannot beryllium mortgaged nether the guise of a commercialized deal,” helium said, describing the statement arsenic a “one-sided and unequal” pact that compromises India’s halfway economical priorities.
Mr. Surjewala alleged that the model statement of February 6 opened the doorway to duty-free imports of American cultivation and nutrient products, which helium said would “devastate” the livelihoods of crores of farmers crossed the country.
He argued that large-scale imports of products specified arsenic maize, sorghum, soybean, fabric and processed foods would depress home prices and wounded Indian producers.
Disparity successful production
Citing accumulation data, helium said India produces astir 43 cardinal metric tonnes of maize annually compared to the United States’ 425 cardinal metric tonnes, portion soybean accumulation stands astatine astir 15.3 cardinal tonnes successful India against 120 cardinal tonnes successful the U.S.
“Duty-free imports would marque it intolerable for Indian farmers to vie [in the market],” helium said.
He besides warned that effect and seed growers successful States specified arsenic Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir could look terrible terms pressures if American nutrient enters the marketplace without tariffs.
The import of processed cultivation products besides raises concerns astir genetically modified (GM) crops entering India “through the backmost door”, Mr. Surjewala said.
The Congress wide caput further alleged that the clause connected removal of “non-tariff barriers” would weaken protections and subsidies for Indian farmers, adjacent arsenic American farmers person acold higher State support.
On vigor security, helium said statements from the U.S. indicated that India had committed to restricting crude lipid purchases from Russia. India had imported lipid worthy ₹15.24 lakh crore from Russia betwixt February 2022 and January 2026, redeeming astir ₹1.81 lakh crore owed to little prices, helium claimed. Any displacement to costlier imports from the U.S. oregon elsewhere would rise vigor costs and undermine self-reliance, helium added.
Mr. Surjewala besides questioned provisions requiring India to acquisition $100 cardinal worthy of American goods annually for 5 years, saying this contradicted earlier claims of expanding “mutual trade” to that level.
“Is this statement based connected equality oregon coercion?” helium asked, adding that the state needed clarity connected whether it was a “strong government” oregon a “compromised government”.
Former Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma besides criticised the Centre, calling the Prime Minister’s remarks connected commercialized negotiations nether the UPA “unfair and incorrect”.
He said that during the Congress-led government, India negotiated commercialized agreements with ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia arsenic a “self-assured federation and a sovereign equal”.
“During the UPA government, India’s system grew rapidly and registered an mean yearly GDP maturation of implicit 8%. The Indian system withstood the planetary meltdown pursuing the 2008 banking and fiscal clang and rebounded quickly. Dr. Singh’s contented was sought by the satellite leaders to negociate the crisis,” Mr. Sharma told The Hindu, describing the interim commercialized woody with the U.S. arsenic a “sell-out” deal.
“The Prime Minister has wholly surrendered successful beforehand of President Trump — precisely the aforesaid mode helium did connected May 10, 2025, by abruptly and unexpectedly halting Operation Sindoor,” Congress wide caput (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, successful a station connected X, portion sharing Mr. Surjewala’s property statement.
