PM Modi surrendered interests of the country in Indo- US trade deal: Rahul Gandhi
Says that the Agnipath scheme will be scrapped when the Congress comes to power
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has accused that the Narendra Modi led BJP government has surrendered before the United States of America. He was addressing a conclave of the ex-servicemen at Pauri in a virtual mode on Thursday. The Congress leader was forced to address the public rally in Almora and conclave of ex-servicemen in Pauri in a virtual manner due to the inclement weather conditions. Addressing the ex-servicemen, Gandhi said that Prime Minister Modi handed over the energy security of the country to American president Donald Trump. He said that the deal inked with the USA clearly mentions that India will be able to purchase crude oil only from the countries approved by the USA. He claimed that after the deal, the farmers of the country are at peril as India has opened the Agriculture sector for the USA. Gandhi added that the Indian government has also handed over medical and commercial data to the USA and has agreed that the country will procure goods worth Rs 9.5 lakh crores every year from the USA which will prove detrimental for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector of the country.
He claimed that in the trade deal, PM Modi took nothing from the USA which shows that he is compromised. Gandhi also claimed that after the deal the USA dropped its case against Gautam Adani.
Continuing his diatribe on the Modi government, Gandhi also claimed that all the defence contracts of the country are being given to Gautam Adani.
In his address, the Congress leader also accused the Union government for implementing the Agnipath scheme. He said that there used to be a sacred unwritten contract between the armed forces personnel and the government according to which the government protects the family and takes care of needs of the armed forces personnel who vows to protect the country. He said that the Modi government has broken this contract by implementing the Agnipath scheme. Gandhi averred that the Congress party will scrap the Agnipath scheme once in power. He said that apart from implementing Agnipath scheme, the Modi government has not given benefit of One Rank One Pension (OROP) and has done away with the disability pension of the armed services personnel.
The in-charge of Uttarakhand Congress Kumari Selja and other senior leaders of Uttarakhand Congress addressed the rally in Almora. Gandhi addressed the Almora rally on the phone.
Bad weather forces Rahul Gandhi to cancel Almora, Pauri visit
PANTNAGAR : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at Pantnagar Airport on Thursday morning for his two day visit to Uttarakhand. However, the inclement weather proved to be a spoilsport for him and the Congress leaders and workers of the State. From Pantnagar, Gandhi boarded a helicopter for Almora. When the helicopter was near Almora, the pilot, citing bad weather conditions, took the helicopter back to Pantnagar. Later the Pauri visit of Gandhi was also cancelled. The director of Pantnagar airport, Sumit Saxema told The Pioneer that the helicopter could not land in Almora due to bad weather and very low visibility. In his message to the people of the State, Gandhi said, “I wanted to sit with you to understand your concerns but due to the bad weather, this could not be done.’’ The LoP in Lok Sabha however assured that soon he will revisit the State.
Rahul Gandhi interacts with parents of Ankita Bhandari
DEHRADUN : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacted with the parents of Ankita Bhandari over phone on Thursday afternoon. Accompanied by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal, Gandhi called the parents of Bhandari from the Pantnagar Airport. He expressed his sympathy with the family and assured them every possible help. The parents of Ankita Bhandari expressed their wish to meet Gandhi in New Delhi, on which he readily agreed and told Godiyal to arrange the meeting.
