"America se deal nahi dheel hui hai": Akhilesh Yadav questions India-US trade deal in LS

New Delhi [India], February 10 (ANI): Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the India-US trade deal, asserting that the government has not negotiated a favourable deal with the Trump administration.
He stressed the need to "focus on ground realities" while speaking during the ongoing Lok Sabha debate during the Budget session.
Speaking in the Lower House, Akhilesh Yadav said, "America se deal nahi dheel hui hai...Kyu jhoothe khayalon mein din-raat kare, jo banate hai hawa mein baaton ke mahal aao unse kuch zameeni baat karein. (Why waste day and night in false thoughts, let's talk to those who build castles in the air about something real)."
Criticising the ruling BJP-led government over the trade deal with the US, SP chief asked how many countries remain with whom such agreements have yet to be signed.
"There has been a nationwide debate about a possible deal with the United States. BJP has said that free trade agreements have been signed with many countries. I want to ask how many countries are still left with whom such agreements are yet to be signed," SP MP added.
The Samajwadi Party chief further reiterated his concern over free trade agreements and added, "Before the budget and after the budget, there has been a widespread discussion across the country that a deal with the United States is about to happen. As I mentioned earlier, the member from the Bharatiya Janata Party was speaking, and she was saying that they have already signed free trade agreements with many countries around the world."
This comes after the joint statement by the two nations said that India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
Further, Yadav questioned the government on the implementation of key promises and the relevance of slogans such as "Atmanirbhar" and "Swadeshi" in light of the pending US deal.
"The benefits of the budget are more here than shared there. Honourable Speaker, words like 'Swadeshi' and 'Atmanirbhar' sound very good. But once this deal has been made, before bringing this budget, have these words, Atmanirbhar and Swadeshi, been removed from their original meaning..." he said.
Highlighting the ground-level impact of the budget, Akhilesh Yadav asserted, "While reviewing the budget and the government's functioning over the years, I want to focus on ground realities rather than false promises."
Pointing out the development disparities in states like poll-bound West Bengal, Bihar and UP, Yadav questioned the lack of bullet train projects here.
"Why is there no bullet train in Bengal, Bihar, UP, there is a lot of discrimination in the BJP government, BJP MLA surrounded the minister, why was the metro not laid in Varanasi, MoUs were signed but how many were implemented on the ground, the government should take decisions on China carefully, the lion of Make in India is eating junk," Yadav added.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla directed the House Secretary-General to examine the no-confidence motion notice against him and take appropriate action, according to sources.
According to sources, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi did not sign the notice of no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla, as it is not proper for the LoP to sign a petition for the removal of the Speaker in a parliamentary democracy. (ANI)