NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the Centre over the US-India trade deal, alleging the Narendra Modi government had sold the country in finalising the agreement.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on Union Budget 2026-27, Rahul referred to PM Narendra Modi and alleged, “You have sold India, are you not ashamed? Do you have no shame?”
“They are choking him, we see fear in the PM’s eyes,” the Congress leader alleged further, adding he has surrendered India’s future before the US.
Rahul said the data of 1.4 billion Indians was a key strength of the country and the Modi government had compromised on the same while finalising the trade deal with the US.
“In a contest between the US and China, the key is the Indian data. If the US wants to remain a superpower, Indian data is the key, because the Chinese have their own pool of data of about 1.4 billion people. Population is not a disaster but our biggest asset,” he told the House.
“Now what has happened? You’ve done a trade deal. The thing that is going to transform India in the 21st century, the thing that is going to make us a superpower in the 21st century, this is what the Modi government has done with our data. We have given up control over our digital trade rules. Number two, there is no need for data localisation. Number three, free data flow to the United States. Number four, limit on digital tax. Number five, no need to disclose any source code. The finance minister is smiling. She likes to smile a lot. 20-year free tax holiday to anybody who wants it, to the big tax company. This is what you’ve done on data,” Rahul alleged.
Rahul said if the INDIA alliance was in power at the Centre and it was doing the trade deal, it would tell the US President: “The first thing we would say is President Trump, the most important thing in this equation is Indian data. You want to protect your dollar? We are your friends. We appreciate you. We want to help you protect your dollar. But please remember that if you want to protect your dollar, the biggest asset that can protect your dollar is lying with the Indian people.”
“President Trump, if you want access to this data, then please understand that you are going to talk to us as an equal. You’re not going to talk to us as if we are your servants. Second thing we would say is Mr Trump, please understand that our energy security is our energy security. No matter what happens, we are going to protect our energy security. The third thing we would say is, President Trump, we understand that you have a voter base, an agricultural voter base. We understand that you need to protect your farmers, but we will also protect our farmers,” he added.
The Congress leader also criticised the government on the issue of tariffs, stating while the US tariff on Indian goods has increased from 3 per cent to 18 per cent, while their duty has come down from 16 per cent to zero.
Earlier, beginning his speech, Rahul said we are now living in a world of energy and finance weaponisation where the US dominance and the dollar are being challenged.
“The world is moving away from stability to instability, to a dangerous world… we are moving away from a world with one superpower to where there are possibly multiple superpowers,” he said.
Rahul added that at the centre of all this is the world of AI, where data is the key.
He also listed three biggest strengths of India, which include the 1.4 billion population, food self-sufficiency and energy.
“The Budget recognises these strengths, dollar weaponisation, and US dominance. But there is nothing in the Budget about energy and finance weaponisation or geopolitical crisis,” he said.
During his speech, Rahul also mentioned the names of businessmen Gautam Adani and Anil Ambani.
“At the centre of our defence budget is a choke applied by Adani… There is a businessman named Anil Ambani. I want to ask why is he not in jail? The reason is that his name is in the Epstein Files. I would also like to ask (Union minister) Hardeep Puri, who introduced him to Epstein. I know who introduced him, and Hardeep Puri knows who introduced him…”
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju intervened and asked Rahul Gandhi to authenticate the allegations that he has levelled on the floor of the House.
“All the points you have made have serious repercussions, so you will have to authenticate that,” Rijiju said. To this, Rahul Gandhi responded, “I will authenticate right now and I will give it.”
Agencies