Angry Indian farmers want minister’s ouster over US trade deal

NEW DELHI: Indian farmers on Monday slammed a new US trade deal as “a surrender to multinational agricultural giants”, calling for the commerce minister’s resignation as Congress accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of capitulating to US President Donald Trump over the “Epstein files” release.

Congress leaders claimed an Indian minister, a businessman and people close to the prime minister figured in the files along with Modi.

According to a report in The Hindu, the umbrella organisation, SKM, sought immediate resignation of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal once he explained the details of the bilateral pact.

The chiefs of the union of apple and cotton growers said any relaxation in the import of cotton would be disastrous for the economies of Jammu and Kashmir, Him­­­­achal Pradesh, Mah­ar­ashtra and Gujarat.

Leaders of SKM also appealed to farmers in all states to participate in protest rallies on Feb 12 and help implement a strike by all workers as a “befitting reply to the anti-people Modi government”.

“Dairy products are part of FTAs signed with the UK, New Zealand, and European Union. And the fresh revelations have undoubtedly proved that the Commerce Minister is very much consciously propagating falsehood and betraying the farmers and the entire people,” the SKM statement said.

The SKM also took issue with Goyal's stance that the animal husbandry sector had demanded imported feed. The group said it was poultry groups that had been demanding feed based on maize and soybean to cut MSPs for domestic crops.

"We have heard that the animal feed in US may contain non-vegetarian items too. Why does this government want our cows to eat non-vegetarian food?" asked Rakesh Tikait, a prominent SKM leader.

M.Y. Tarigami, leader of the Apple Farmers Federation of India and a Jammu and Kashmir legislator, opined that this agreement would 'devastate' the regional economies.

"We are facing problems in apple cultivation due to lack of marketing facilities and climatic challenges," Tarigami said. "Farmers in both the states are already in distress. This announcement will be a huge setback for apple and tree nut growers."

In a state like Jammu and Kashmir, where there are no other economic avenues like industry, the only source of income was cultivation of apples and dry fruits. While adding to it, Tarigami said, "The Union government does not care about farmers here and is working for their masters in the United States." Protesting against the government’s lack of transparency regarding the deal,