New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) The Congress, along with farmer bodies, will organise ‘Kisan Sammelans’ across the country to highlight how the interim Indo-US trade deal will “adversely” affect the farmers and put their livelihoods in jeopardy.
The first such event would be organised in Bhopal on February 24, where Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, respectively, would be present.
The decision to organise Kisan Sammelans together with farmer organisations was taken at a meeting of Congress leaders from five states – Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra – and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, in which party chief Kharge and Gandhi were present.
The meeting attended by AICC general secretaries, state in-charges, Pradesh Congress presidents and CLP leaders from six states discussed the Indo-US trade deal at length, and chalked out its plans for agitations.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was present at the meeting.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “The meeting featured a serious discussion on the India-US trade deal. It is clear that in this ‘trap deal’, the Modi government has compromised the interests of farmers. This deal will directly impact cotton, soybean, maize farmers, and fruit and nut producers.
“To protect the rights of farmers, the Indian National Congress will organise ‘Kisan Sammelans’ and take this issue to every village.” Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, later told reporters that the country has been “forced” to agree to the Indo-US trade deal, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “surrendered”.
“This trade deal will adversely affect cotton, soybean, maize farmers and fruit and nut producers in these six states. That is why we have talked to the leaders of these states.
“The Congress will organise Kisan Sammelans (farmers’ conventions), in which Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will take part. The first event would be organised in Bhopal on February 24 and the second in Yavatmal (Maharashtra) on March 7,” Ramesh said.
While the first two events will be organised before the second leg of the Budget Session of Parliament, beginning March 9, the third will be held in Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) in March, Ramesh said.
“Both Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have strongly emphasised that this (trade deal) was Prime Minister Modi’s surrender. The first surrender happened on May 10, 2025, when a sudden ceasefire was declared during Operation Sindoor.
“While the government is talking about the trade deal, the truth is, it will adversely affect the farmers of the country. It will have a negative impact on them,” Ramesh said.
“Therefore, in the first phase, we will raise our voice against the trade deal together with farmers’ bodies in the affected states,” he added.
“Similar to the farmers’ protests against the three black (farm) laws, we, together with farmers’ organisations, will organise Kisan Sammelans, first in the affected states and then all over the country. We will highlight how the livelihoods of lakhs of farmers are in danger,” the Congress leader said.
AICC general secretaries K C Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Naseer Hussain, and in-charges Rajani Patil and Ghulam Ahmed Mir also attended the meeting.
Earlier this month, India and the US released a joint statement announcing a framework for the interim trade agreement.
On Friday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the interim trade agreement is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April. PTI SKC ARI
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