Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to Rahul Gandhi. (Parliament TV)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a scathing attack on opposition leader Rahul Gandhi over his statement of 'selling Mother India'. He said that it was the Congress's UPA government which sold the country and linked India with Pakistan.
Responding to the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister said, "It is the Congress that sold the government, the farmers, the poor and the country. It was you who linked India with Pakistan...Kiren Rijiju is right - till date not a single person has been born who could sell India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never do so."
Finance Minister mentioned Sharm el-Sheikh
Referring to the Sharm al-Sheikh Joint Statement, he accused the UPA government of weakening India's position on sovereignty and security in talks with Pakistan. Sitharaman said, "Those who want to hold talks with Pakistan in Sharm-el-Sheikh are now giving us suggestions on talks."
The Sharm Al-Sheikh Agreement of 2009 was signed between the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. In the meeting held seven months after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Dr. Manmohan Singh had reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice.
The Finance Minister also alleged that India had compromised on the peace clause at the WTO meeting held in Bali, Indonesia - which took place during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
This agreement, signed in 2013, had two special pillars, Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Public Stockholding (Food Security). He said, "It was the Congress which not only sold the benefits of the poor and farmers of this country, but also sold the country."
You have sold India – Rahul Gandhi
Referring to the India-US trade deal, Rahul Gandhi had said that the government should be ashamed. He said, "You have sold India... For the first time in history, our farmers are facing the storm and you have opened the way to crush our poor farmers."
India-US trade deal absurd- Rahul Gandhi
Describing the deal as "absurd", he said that initially, the average tariff was three per cent. "Now it's 18 percent - a six-fold increase. US imports will go from US$46 billion to US$146 billion. They have no commitment to us, we have a commitment to them."
Rahul Gandhi said, referring to a provision which states that India will buy $500 billion in US energy and tech products. He said, "We are standing like idiots. Our tariff has gone up to 18 percent and theirs has come down from 16 percent to zero."
Also read- 'Sold the country...' What did BJP say on Rahul Gandhi's allegations in Parliament?
Chyawanprash is a part of every Indian's life, it reduces diseases and increases energy.