Bhopal, Feb 21 (IANS) AICC General Secretary and in-charge for Madhya Pradesh Congress, Harish Chaudhary, said on Saturday that the proposed US-India trade deal is likely to impact the agricultural sector and pose a dangerous situation for the farmers.

Citing the example of the US food supply blockade between 1965 and 1971, the Congress leader said that history has already witnessed severe impacts on the country’s situation in the past.

He stated that after those severe impacts, India could become self-sufficient through the Green Revolution and warned that the proposed trade deal could create similar dangerous situations in the country.

He added that importing soybeans from the US would severely impact the country’s farmers and small traders, including in Madhya Pradesh.

“India is self-sufficient in cotton, yet importing cotton from the US would directly impact the consumption and income of Indian farmers,” Choudhary stated during a press conference at the Congress office in Bhopal on Saturday.

Choudhary made this statement after chairing a meeting with state Congress leadership to review the preparations for a massive farmers conference to be organised in Bhopal, which will be attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on February 24.

On this occasion, the Congress workers are also likely to stage a protest at the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The event will also mark the start of the Congress’s nationwide movement to organise a public awareness campaign on the US-India trade deal.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari, who also joined the press conference along with state LoP Umang Singhar, shared that the Congress party will start a ‘Kisan Chaupal’ in Budhni, and a farmers’ foot march will commence from Vidisha.

Budhni is the home town of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and now Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which is part of Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency being represented by him.

“Kisan Mahapanchayat will be held in Bhopal on February 24, which will be attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. Thousands of farmers will participate in the Mahapanchayat,” Patwari said.

–IANS

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