Chaos, Slogans In Parliament As Piyush Goyal Tries To Speak On India-US Trade Deal

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm amid chaos and fierce protests from opposition MPs demanding details about the impact of the India-United States trade agreement on the agriculture sector. As Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal rose to address the House on that topic, opposition benches began shouting protests and slogans, drowning out his remarks. In the few minutes he managed to make himself heard, he stressed the government had protected farmers' interests. Today is a third consecutive day Parliament has seen adjournments amid protests by the opposition. On Monday and Tuesday the disruptions were over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's demands to read excerpts from an unpublished book – on the India-China border stand-off in Ladakh in 2020 – written by ex-Army chief General MM Naravane. Today the opposition questioned the lack of clarity in a trade agreement – which will see US reciprocal tariffs drop to 18 per cent – that was previously held up over Washington demanding access to price-sensitive agriculture and dairy markets.