Congress to hold farmers’ meetings on India-U.S. trade deal

The Congress on Friday (February 20, 2026) said it would organise a series of Kisan Sammelans or farmers’ meet across five States and one Union Territory to highlight the “adverse” impact of the India-U.S. trade agreement on farmers.

The decision was taken after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met with Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs and Congress Legislature Party leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. 

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was also present.

The announcement also came on a day when Indian Youth Congress workers did a dramatic protest at the ongoing Artificial Intelligence summit at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam.

The first such sammelan will be held in Bhopal on February 24, to be followed by one at Yavatmal in Maharashtra on March 7. The third sammelan will be held at Sriganganagar of Rajasthan later in March.

“It is clear that in this TRAP DEAL, the Modi government has compromised the interests of farmers. This deal will directly impact cotton, soybean, maize farmers, and fruit and nut producers. To protect the rights of farmers, the Indian National Congress will organise a ‘Kisan Sammelan’ and take this issue to every village,” Mr. Kharge said in a X post.

‘Surrender, not agreement’

Briefing the media outside the Congress president’s official residence at 10, Rajaji Marg, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said Mr. Kharge and Mr. Gandhi would be attending the first two kisan sammelans.

Mr. Ramesh described the trade agreement as a “surrender” by the Prime Minister, claiming that India was compelled to enter into the pact. He said the agreement would, in the first phase, directly affect cotton, soybean and maize farmers, as well as fruit and nut growers in the five States and in J&K.

Drawing a parallel with the agitation against the three farm laws, Mr. Ramesh said the Congress would work with farmer organisations to highlight “the threat posed by the trade deal to the livelihoods of lakhs of farmers”.