Rahul Gandhi Vows to Fight for Farmers' Rights Amidst Threats of Legal Action

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted that he would continue to fight for farmers’ rights, even if an FIR is lodged against him, a case is filed, or a Privilege motion is brought. “Whether an FIR is filed, a case is registered, or a Privilege motion is brought — I will fight for the farmers. Any trade deal that snatches away farmers’ livelihood or weakens the country’s food security is anti-farmer," the Congress MP said in a video message on X after reports surfaced that a privilege motion could be considered over his recent remarks in the House. Gandhi accused the Modi government of being anti-farmers and said it would not be allowed to compromise on the interests of “annadata". “We will not allow the anti-farmer Modi government to compromise on the interests of the food providers," he added. His remarks came a day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that a privilege motion would be moved against Gandhi for allegedly misleading the House and making “baseless statements." Rijiju did not specify when the notice would be brought or who would initiate it, though it is understood that a member from the treasury benches in the Lok Sabha is likely to do so. However, government sources told ANI that there are no plans at present to move a privilege motion against the Congress leader. The clarification came even as BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said he had submitted a notice seeking a ‘substantive motion’ against Gandhi. A substantive motion is a formal, standalone proposal placed before the House to seek its approval on a specific matter. “No privilege motion notice. I have given a substantive motion notice where in I have mentioned how he visits Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia with Soros Foundation, Ford Foundation and USAID, and colludes with anti-India forces," Dubey said. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, Gandhi alleged that the government has “sold Bharat Mata" through the India-US interim trade deal, and that it was a “wholesale surrender" with India’s energy security being handed over to America and farmers’ interests compromised. He said that if an INDIA bloc government would have negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump they should treat India as an equal. “You have sold India. Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother, Bharat Mata," Gandhi said, while referring to the recent trade agreement between the two countries. Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress MP lashed out at sections of the media over questions regarding a possible privilege motion against him. Responding to a question on whether the government was planning to move a privilege notice, Gandhi said, “You are not totally employed by the BJP. At least try and do little bit of objective stuff, it gets really shameful… it’s too much. You are responsible people. You are media people, you have a responsibility to be objective. You can’t just take a word they give you… everyday and run your whole show on that. You are doing a disservice to this country."