'Congress-led UPA govt had sold country's farmers & poor to WTO in 2013': Sitharaman attacks Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, claiming he was advising the Centre on how to conduct trade negotiations, while the Congress-led UPA government "surrendered before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2013 and sold the farmers, the poor and the country."

In her nearly 90-minute reply to the general discussion on Union Budget in Lok Sabha, she also targeted the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal and CPI(M)-led government in Kerala where polls are due, accusing them of misgovernance while insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will always speak in India's interest.

She also debunked Opposition claims that the union government was not transferring 41% of the divisible pool of taxes to the states. She said she can assure that 41% has been transferred to the states and the government has not reduced any state's devolvable tax.

Hours after Rahul accused the Modi government of selling the country through the Indo-US trade deal, Sitharaman said that the LoP would not have made such remarks like weaponisation of finance and that there is no provision for data, food and energy security if he had read the budget.

"He spoke about selling farmers, PM Modi has surrendered and all. I will tell you who has surrendered the country's interests and sold the country. In the Bali conference of WTO in 2013, the Congress government entered into an agreement that there will be no public holding of food grains," she said.

This would mean that the government could not procure agricultural produce from farmers by paying the minimum support price from 2017 and that the poor would not be able to give ration, she said.

"If PM Modi in 2014 had not fought with the WTO, this country would not have been able to give PDS (ration) to the poor. They had surrendered and sold the country to the WTO," she said.

On Rahul's claims that the government was not vocal in US President Donald Trump's promotion of Pakistan, she retorted that it was under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009 when an agreement was signed in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh delinking terrorism from talks with Pakistan.

"Today they are advising us how to negotiate. You are the people who sold the farmers, the poor, and the nation," she said amid protests by Congress MPs.

Recalling Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks, she said, "Koi mai ka laal paida nahi hua jo humare desh ko bech de ya kharid le (no one has the audacity to sell or buy out India)."

Seeking to debunk allegations of Trinamool Congress MPs, including floor leader Abhishek Banerjee, she said a number of projects have been announced for east India, and West Bengal could put their efforts to garner it.

She slammed Banerjee for claiming that there is GST on milk and other products as well as funeral services, saying it is completely untrue.

Amid sloganeering by Trinamool MPs, she alleged that it is not GST but "Trinamool's cut money syndicate that is creating trouble for the common man."

"If they are so worried about the common man, why petrol prices in Kolkata are higher by Rs 10 compared to Delhi?" she asked.

Nirmala also claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not improving law and order in the state but asking women to stay indoors at night. "The (culture of) bomb runs in Bengal, not rule of law," she said.

The minister also attacked the Left government in Kerala, saying the investment climate in the state is not good as "they do not work hard for it." She also spoke about law and order in the state and claimed that the atrocities against Dalits and tribals are rising in the state.

Responding to Opposition MPs' claims that the Centre collects cess and surcharges but does not share it with states, she said cess and surcharge collected are given to the states for development work in various sectors. This is separate from the 41 per cent of funds allocated to the states, she said.