Mumbai, Feb 14 (PTI) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday described Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as "immature" and lacking understanding of the economy and accused the opposition party of spreading misinformation as it had no constructive agenda to criticise the Narendra Modi government.

Speaking to reporters here in Mumbai on the Union Budget, Goyal said Rahul Gandhi is "thousand miles away from the truth" and asserted "discredited leaders" like him may try but would not be able to stop Prime Minister Modi and his service to the nation.

"The Congress is frustrated. It has no other scheme or solution except spreading misinformation and fabricated claims. It does not have any point to criticise us. They are trying to mislead our farmers by spreading wrong and false information," he said.

"I am confident that discredited leaders like Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and its allies, including TMC, DMK and SP, which are parties rejected by the people, can try hundreds of thousands of times, but nobody can stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his service to the nation," the minister further said.

The Mumbai North BJP Lok Sabha MP said the Congress has failed to understand its own limitations.

"Rahul Gandhi does not have any understanding of the economy, only tweeting false and misleading information on social media. He is thousands of miles away from the truth. India's cotton cultivation capacity and requirement both will grow. This policy of importing material and processing it for export is an old practice in global trade," the minister said.

When immature people come into politics, allegations of such level are made, he said in a further attack on Rahul Gandhi over the latter's criticism of the Indo-US trade deal with regards to cotton cultivation and the textile sector.

Textiles are a shining example in the country's overall exports, accounting for nearly Rs 3.60 lakh crore of the total, which will more than double in the coming time, Goyal said responding to a question.

"Among the FTAs that India has pushed forward in the last few months, the textile sector's contribution would be nearly USD half a trillion, which comes to about Rs 45 lakh crore, With the textile market now opened for us, it will benefit us. The United States alone procures textile products worth around Rs 9 lakh crore annually. Moreover, reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods have been reduced to 18 per cent from earlier 50 per cent," he pointed out.

Roughly half of the total exports to the US from India will go at zero duty, and the 18 per cent tariffs on the rest is the lowest when compared to any other competing nation, Goyal asserted.

"We are lower than China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. India has received the lowest tariffs from the US compared to our competitors, and it has opened a USD 30 trillion market for India. I think it is a game-changer for the future progress of India," he said.

The Union minister also noted that the European Union procures around Rs 22-23 lakh crore worth of goods from India, adding that textile products would be exported at zero duty to markets such as the EU, New Zealand, and the UK.

"The US produces around 480 million pounds bales of cotton every year, which is valued at Rs 1.25 lakh crore. It cannot damage the interests of India's cotton growers. The US exports around Rs 45,000 crore worth of cotton. In my guess, India's one region produces more cotton than that," the minister said.

The nation's demand for cotton is much higher and it is rising, the senior BJP leader added. PTI ND BNM

Trade agreement benefits: tariff reductions and market access touted as boosting textile exports and supporting cotton growers. The minister defended recent trade engagement as opening market access for Indian textiles, asserting reciprocal tariff reductions under recent agreements will enhance export competitiveness and grant zero-duty access to several markets, thereby benefiting the textile sector and cotton growers; he characterised processing imported material for export as an established global trade practice and said national cotton demand and cultivation capacity will expand.