BJP attacking farmers again, govt must answer: Akhilesh on US-India trade deal

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the government over the recently announced India-US trade deal, asserting that opening Indian markets to American agricultural produce amounted to a betrayal of nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population dependent on farming.

Under the deal, Washington has agreed to reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, a move Yadav said disproportionately favoured foreign interests at the expense of Indian farmers.

“BJP and its associates have long acted as agents of foreign powers, even before Independence, and continue to do so today,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister charged. He demanded that ruling party leaders explain to the public how much “commission” they had earned by compromising the nation’s economy.

Yadav warned that such policies would not only hurt farmers but also strain the lower and middle classes, fostering profiteering in food grains and agricultural products while creating a new class of middlemen. He alleged that corporate donations to the BJP would further inflate the prices of essential food items.

“These measures will gradually erode farmers’ incomes, forcing them to sell their land to wealthy individuals and corporates. Capturing land is the ultimate objective of the BJP and its allies,” he said.

The SP chief also criticised the proposed Seed Bill, describing it as “fatal for Indian agriculture” and emblematic of the BJP government’s anti-farmer mindset. He accused the ruling party of introducing exploitative land acquisition laws, humiliating citizens through long queues for fertilisers, and promoting corporate interests linked to seeds, pesticides, storage silos, crop insurance, and agri-trade.

Yadav called for organised resistance, noting that farmers, already troubled by issues like stray cattle, would no longer tolerate policies that undermine their livelihoods. “BJP has been, is, and will remain anti-farmer. It is time to remove the BJP, save our fields, and protect farming and farmers,” he asserted.

With PTI inputs