New Delhi [India], July 2 : Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, raised concerns over India's growing dependence on "Made in China" products, calling it a serious threat to the nation's agricultural backbone.
In a post on X, Rahul cited a media report that claimed that India's agricultural sector, the backbone of its economy, is facing a severe crisis due to foreign dependence on essential fertilisers. The country imports 80% of its specialty fertilisers from China, and the recent halt in supplies has sent shockwaves through the farming community.
"India is an agrarian country, and the farmer is the backbone of our economy. But today, that very backbone is bending under the weight of foreign dependence. India imports 80% of its speciality fertilisers from China, and now China has halted the supply," he said.
Rahul Gandhi said that the farmers are already struggling with shortages of essential fertilisers like urea and DAP. The addition of specialty fertilisers to the list of scarce resources has further exacerbated the situation.
"This isn't the first time, farmers across the country are still struggling with shortages of essential fertilisers like urea and DAP, and now a new 'Chinese crisis' looms over speciality fertilisers. On one hand, the Prime Minister is busy printing his photos on fertiliser sacks, while on the other, our farmers are becoming increasingly dependent on "Made in China," Rahul Gandhi said.
Further, the Congress MP accused the government of negligence and failing to promote domestic production despite repeated warnings, adding that the government has failed to formulate a policy or plan to promote domestic production of fertilisers, leaving farmers dependent on imports.
"Despite knowing that this supply could be disrupted at any moment, the government made no preparations. When the need of the hour was to promote domestic production, they made no policy, no plan," Rahul said.
"Will the Indian farmer now be helpless even in his own soil? As precious time and healthy crops are lost, the farmer, drowning in debt and despair, is asking: 'Kiska Sath, Kiska Vikas," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, as India marked eight years of the Goods and Services Tax, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government and termed the GST rolled out by it as a "brutal tool of economic injustice and corporate cronyism."
The Congress leader alleged that the GST rolled out by the government was designed to "punish the poor, crush MSMEs, undermine states, and benefit a few billionaire friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."