New Delhi: In one of the sharpest political offensives mounted in recent memory, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday escalated its confrontation with the Congress over the interim India–US trade deal, deputing Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, one of its senior-most faces in both the government and the party, to lead a blistering counterattack against Rahul Gandhi.
The decision to have Goyal address the press conference, instead of leaving the response to national spokespersons, underlined the weight the BJP attached to Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “compromised” and “trapped” into signing the agreement. Goyal, who played a central role in negotiating the pact, personally defended the deal and accused the Congress leader of “playing with the country” and acting as a “puppet of foreign powers, anti-India forces and anti-India organisations”.
The minister’s remarks followed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that the Prime Minister rushed into the trade pact under pressure and in the interests of select individuals, including Union minister Hardeep Puri and industrialist Gautam Adani, whom he described as part of the BJP’s “financial structure”. Rahul further claimed that Modi was “forced” to sign the agreement and linked the timing of the deal to issues arising in the United States, including references to the Epstein files. He alleged that names linked to the files were being used to “threaten” the Prime Minister and suggested that the trade pact was finalised against this backdrop.
Rejecting the allegations, Goyal broadened the attack well beyond Rahul Gandhi. He accused the Congress and the Nehru–Gandhi family of repeatedly compromising national interests. In a sweeping political indictment, he named Sonia Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, asserting that the family had historically placed political considerations above national interest.
He referred to the functioning of the National Advisory Council during the Manmohan Singh government, alleging that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi exercised extra-constitutional authority and ran a “parallel cabinet”. He claimed cabinet decisions were publicly undermined and said the arrangement disrespected the office of the Prime Minister.
Goyal also invoked the Bofors scandal during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, alleging attempts were made to stall investigations, and cited claims attributed to former US ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan that the CIA had provided funds to the Congress party in earlier decades. He said the Gandhi family had “never shied away from compromising the country” and had tarnished India’s image globally.
The commerce minister further criticised Rahul Gandhi’s engagement with the media, accusing him of holding “curated press conferences” and avoiding unscripted or uncomfortable questions. He said journalists raising tough questions were branded as partisan, and alleged that such conduct reflected a disregard for democratic norms.
Senior Congress leaders, however, told this newspaper that the scale and intensity of the BJP’s response, both inside Parliament and outside, indicated that the ruling party leadership was being impacted by the opposition’s line of attack. According to them, the decision to deploy senior ministers and escalate rhetoric showed that the issue had struck a nerve, and they said the Congress would therefore continue to press Prime Minister Modi on the trade deal and on questions relating to the Epstein files.
The breadth and intensity of the exchange signal a deepening and entrenched divide between the BJP and the Congress, with little indication of political hostilities easing anytime soon. The confrontation over the India–US trade agreement now appears set to sharpen further in the days ahead.
