Parliament Budget Session Live: Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour on Tuesday amid protests and sloganeering by opposition members over the recently announced India-US trade deal.
Both houses of Parliament reconvened to continue the discussion on the motion of ‘Thanks to the President’s address’ today, a day after a major political row erupted as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to read in the Lok Sabha from an unpublished ‘memoir’ of former Army chief MM Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.
Soon after the obituary references, the Opposition members began sloganeering over the trade deal. The members shouted ‘Howdi-Modi’ slogans referring to the mega event held on 22 September 2019, at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, United States, attended by Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition alleged on Tuesday that the Union government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and India had agreed to a trade deal. President Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent. Trump said this after a phone conversation with PM Modi, announced by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gorwho joined last month.
Parliament not taken into confidence: Congress
On Tuesday, Congress MP KC Venugopal gave a notice of adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the India-US Trade Agreement.
“Despite the significant economic, agricultural, and strategic implications of these reported commitments, the Government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence,” Venugopal said.
The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal, and it is imperative that the Government place all details before Parliament and the nation, he added.
“Given the urgency and public importance of the matter, this issue warrants immediate discussion through an Adjournment Motion,” the Congress leader said.
The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal.
“The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal, and it is imperative that the Government place all details before Parliament and the nation, he added.
“Given the urgency and public importance of the matter, this issue warrants immediate discussion through an Adjournment Motion,” the Congress leader added.
There has been no official government statement on the deal. While top ministers have mentioned a reduction in the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, no social media post mentioned anything about Russian Oil and other things claimed by President Trump in the social media post after speaking with PM Modi on Monday night.
Earlier, the Congress took a swipe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government, soon after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and India had agreed to a trade deal. The opposition party said it appears the prime minister has ‘capitulated finally’ and that this ‘cannot be the father of all deals.’
The Lok Sabha was marred by protests on Monday too. A massive political row ensued when Leader of Opposition (LoP), speaking during the Budget Session of Parliament, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and sought to read about India-China clashes from excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane. The excerpts published in a magazine evoked a backlash from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who accused him of misleading the House and belittling the armed forces. The house was adjourned for the day amid repeated protests in the house.
