New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) The India-US trade deal will hurt the interest of Indian farmers and the government wants to destroy the country's agriculture sector, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged on Wednesday.

Participating in the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Upper House, the Congress party president also said it is an insult to Indian Parliament that parliamentarians got to know about the deal when it was in session from US President Donald Trump and not the government.

Quoting US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins he said "the new US-India deal will export farm products to India's massive markets, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America." "Meaning American farmers will benefit," Kharge said, adding "tell us are you (government) working for the welfare of farmers or are you against the farmers?" Asserting that the deal will hurt the interest of Indian farmers, he alleged that the government wants to "destroy" Indian agriculture sector.

American imports will come at zero tariff and what India exports there will be at 18 per cent, he lamented.

Raising the manner of the announcement of India-US trade deal deal, Kharge said when Parliament was in session the parliamentarians got to know about it from US President Donald Trump and not from the Indian government.

"The fact that parliamentarians came to know about the India-US trade deal from President Trump and not the government is an insult to Parliament," he said, adding Trump is telling what India should do and how to run it from the US.

Indian farmers will be destroyed by this deal, he added.

On Monday, Trump in a social media post announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington would bring down reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI RKL RKL ANU ANU

India-US trade deal will hurt Indian farmers amid concerns over tariff asymmetry and lack of parliamentary notice. The India-US trade agreement is alleged to harm Indian agriculture by allowing American farm imports at effectively zero tariff while Indian exports face an 18% reciprocal tariff, creating tariff asymmetry that benefits US farmers and threatens domestic farm incomes; the Opposition also asserts that learning of the deal from the US President rather than the government undermines parliamentary notice and accountability.