New Delhi: With India deciding not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Congress claimed victory Monday. It said that forceful opposition ensured that the BJP government backs out from bartering the interests of farmers, dairy producers, fishermen and small and medium businessmen.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said it is a win for all those protecting national interests.
“As BJP and Shree Amit Shah indulge in fake credit seeking today, let them remember that Congress’ forceful opposition made them back down from RCEP,” said Surjewala on Twitter.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP government ‘had gone overboard’ in its zeal to sign RCEP.
“A forceful opposition by Congress and Rahul Gandhi ensure that BJP government backs down from bartering the interests of farmers, dairy producers, fishermen, small and medium businesses at the altar of political expediency (sic),” Surjewala said.
Surjewala further said that with ‘rampant unemployment, a sinking economy and deep agrarian crisis emanating from utter mismanagement of economy by BJP Government’, signing RCEP would have been catastrophic.
“By backing down at the behest of the Congress party and farmers groups, our government has been forced to take a correct decision,” Surjewala asserted.
“The Modi Government was pushing to sign RCEP agreement without addressing genuine concerns and national interests,” he said, adding that no care was taken about farmers and MSMEs objections or national security interests,” he stated.
“India’s farmers and MSME’s had genuine unaddressed concerns about – Circumvention of Rules of Origin to dump Chinese goods; Absence of safeguards to prevent against import surges at the cost of domestic industry; No assurance on market access for service and IT industry,” added Surjewala.
PTI