Chandigarh: In the ongoing budget session of the Punjab assembly, where it passed a condemnation resolution against the proposed India–US trade deal on Tuesday, both ruling AAP and opposition legislators invoked the Epstein files to attack the BJP-led govt at the Centre.
Speaking on the condemnation resolution and supporting it strongly, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, while recollecting how the BJP-led govt took back the three farm laws, said, "Now the unfortunate thing is that ever since the case of the Epstein files came up, there was tremendous pressure on the Prime Minister."
Bajwa added, "You understand what that means. Even [US] President [Donald] Trump's name appears widely in those files, and there is some very sensitive information said to be against the Prime Minister as well. Under that pressure, the latest agreement they made is a complete sell-out."
In his concluding address on the condemnation resolution to slam the India–US trade deal, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, "The Epstein files have mention of 2 to 3 persons. [I] don't know what is the compulsion." Mann said America says that if it spoke, "the political career of Modi will end and that is why all things need to be adhered to."
AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali, while asserting that "we are not a colony of America, but a sovereign country", said, "We don't learn about the agreements, but only through a tweet from the US." Banawali said, "The only reason was that in the files which opened, our leadership [of the country] are entangled somewhere or the other. [Union minister Hardeep] Puri's name also came up. On the other hand, all whose names came up across the world, they resigned. But our ones, instead of resigning, are out to bring the country down. The agreement which will sound a death knell for our farmers is being done."
Meanwhile, opposing the proposed agreement, which he asserted was detrimental to the interests of farmers, Bajwa said, "Pulses will also come under this agreement. At one time when the Americans proposed including pulses, the govt immediately folded its hands and requested them not to include too many items because farmers in major agricultural states would rise in protest. So they temporarily kept some items reserved. But along with cotton, pulses and many other items are included. Even apples were allowed. Apple growers from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir are suffering major losses because of this. Soybean is coming, corn is coming, and wheat will also come — maybe not today but after 6 months or a year."
Bajwa pointed out, "International wheat prices are about Rs 1,300 per quintal, while in India we buy wheat at around Rs 2600 per quintal under MSP. If wheat from abroad starts coming at Rs 1,300, you can imagine the condition of farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and other states."
He added, "Then there is our dairy sector. In almost every village and even in cities, families keep two buffaloes or cows. It is an alternative source of income. The day American dairy production enters our market, where we sell milk at Rs 50–Rs 60 per litre, it could start selling at ₹35–₹40. If that happens, companies like Verka and Amul will also collapse. Their by-products will also enter the market."
Congress MLA Pargat Singh said, "This is not a trade agreement but a surrender by the Prime Minister before the United States."
He added, "There can be no comparison between agricultural trade in India and the United States. The US provides subsidies of about ₹1.5 lakh crore to its farmers, while Indian farmers receive only ₹6000 per family as subsidy. This is not an agreement but a surrender."
Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, "The agreement could harm Indian agriculture and expose domestic farmers to unfair global competition."
Cheema referenced statements and social media posts from United States officials who he said "celebrated newfound access to India's massive population for their agricultural exports."
Quoting a social media post by US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, he shared the message: "Thank you President Trump for once again delivering for our American farmers. The new US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India's growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today's deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for agriculture."
Cheema said, "The Union govt must explain whether it is prioritising the interests of foreign corporations over the welfare of the people of India."
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