‘PM under pressure’: Rahul Gandhi links Adani, Epstein to India-US trade deal | India News

NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday intensified his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, linking the India–US trade deal to what he called “two pressure points”.Also read: ‘Our Prime Minister compromised, sold our nation,’ alleges Rahul outside ParliamentHe alleged that the Prime Minister was “under pressure” because of cases involving industrialist Gautam Adani and the release of material related to Jeffrey Epstein.

“There’s a case against (Gautam) Adani in US courts. They are not targeting Adani, they are targeting PM Modi’s financial structure. The second thing is there is still a lot to be revealed from the Epstein files which the nation wants to know. The US has not released it till now and there is pressure on PM Modi over this. The case on Adani is like a case on PM Modi because he is the financial structure behind PM Modi and the BJP. So these are two pressure points,” he said.Earlier, the ministry of external affairs had rejected any references made to PM Modi in the files, with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying references beyond the Prime Minister’s 2017 Israel visit were “trashy ruminations of a convicted criminal”.Rahul further accused PM Modi of “being compromised” and “selling the country” through the India–US trade deal. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, “Modi ji is rattled. The (US–India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji’s image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised. The public needs to think about this. For the first time, the LoP was not allowed to speak on the President’s speech.”“Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country. Narendra Modi ji is scared because those who shaped his image are now breaking this image,” he added.This followed the India–US trade agreement that reduced tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 25%. Congress has demanded full details of the deal, questioning claims about opening up the agriculture sector, calls for tariffs to be reduced to “zero”, and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump.