Lok Sabha: The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi spoke during the debate on the Budget in the Lok Sabha on February 11, 2026, and noted that the Government of India had surrendered energy sovereignty as now the United States will decide from where we should purchase our oil and from where we should not. He said that the US has threatened to impose punitive tariffs if India purchases oil from countries disapproved by Washington. He argued that such conditions amount to ‘weaponisation’ of finance and energy and undermine India’s sovereign decision-making. He alleged that the Centre has compromised India’s data sovereignty, energy security and agricultural interests in its recent engagement with the United States, at a time of intensifying global instability.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s position and his role in the trade deal that compromised the country’s interests, he said, “No Prime Minister before Modi has done like that, nor will anyone after him do that.” No Prime Minister would sign such a deal unless there was a hold on him as he was under a ‘chokehold’ or had a ‘grip on his neck’ by the US, he observed. “You have sold our mother, ‘Bharat Mata’. Do you have no shame?”, he remarked in a scathing attack on the government. Contradicting the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition noted that the world was moving ‘from stability to instability’, citing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, including Gaza, and asserted that energy and finance are increasingly being weaponised in global geopolitics. Some time back, Prime Minister and NSA stated shockingly that the era of war is over. In fact, we are moving into the era of war and you can see war is there in Ukraine, war was there in Gaza, war is there in the Middle East, threat of war is there in Iran, we had ‘Operation Sindoor’. So, we are moving into a world of instability. He contended that despite acknowledging such turbulence, the Union Budget does not adequately address the ‘weaponisation of energy and finance’ or safeguard India’s core strategic assets.

On US, he said that the dollar is being challenged. The central game, as my friends on the other side understand that the dollar is being challenged, US supremacy is being challenged. We are moving from a world of one superpower to some new world that really, we can’t predict. May be two superpowers, maybe multiple powers and it’s an unstable world. And that is what, you have said in your Economic Survey and I agree with it, 100 per cent.

Describing India’s 1.4 billion population as the country’s ‘Central strength’, Shri Gandhi said that in the digital age, data is the key strategic resource, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. “For artificial intelligence, data is petrol”, he remarked, adding, “if you have AI but don’t have data, you have nothing”. He observed that India and China possess the world’s largest pools of data, which are critical in the contest between the US and China.

Shri Rahul Gandhi referred to the 20-year tax holiday to big tech companies. He listed five digital trade concessions granted to the US in the deal. These include no data localisation, free data flow to the US, limit on digital tax, no source code disclosure and loss of control over digital trade rules. He said that this is not reform, this is complete surrender of India’s most valuable asset. He added that it is not just the surrender of a Prime Minister, but of the future of 1.5 billion Indians. He remarked that PM Modi has surrendered the future of Indians because he wanted to protect BJP’s financial architecture under scrutiny in the United States, referring to the case against Adani.

Commenting on Artificial Intelligence Shri Rahul Gandhi said that at the centre of this fight is the concept of AI. Everybody says that we are moving into the era of AI and I would like to warn the government that AI is going to have many-many consequences. One consequence of AI is going to be that something that we relied on, the Congress Party and the UPA built the entire Indian IT industry, companies like Infosys, companies that are at the forefront of Information Technology are going to struggle, they are going to be challenged. The idea of becoming a software engineer, which is a very popular idea in India, is going to be challenged. Lots of our software engineers are going to be replaced by AI. So, why I am saying this is, we are moving into a turbulent world, dangerous world.

Now, when you move into a dangerous world, what is the first thing that you have to understand? The first thing you have to understand is, what are your strengths, as a person and as a Nation.

He said that in the geopolitical contest, Indian data is the ‘single most valuable asset’, and negotiations with the US should have been conducted ‘as equals’. He said that had the INDIA bloc negotiated with the US President, it would have negotiated as equals and not like servants. “We would not have allowed India to be equated with Pakistan”, he said, adding, “We would have asserted treat us as equals, not as servants.”

On Indian valuable assets, he said that what do you need in difficult times? You need food. Who produces our food? Our Kisans produce our food. Our labourers produce our food. This is what gives us strength. This is what allows that data to be produced, this is what allows that brilliance to be generated and we fought for food security. Food is abandoned today. So, that’s the second thing.

And the third thing, what do you need to run a modern country? You need energy, you need fuel, you need petrol. So, these are the three things that need to be protected in turbulent times, our people and our data, our food supply, the ability to produce food and our energy system.

Reiterating that the Indo-US trade deal was a complete surrender, Shri Gandhi pointed out that the average tariffs on Indian goods have increased from around 3 per cent to 18 per cent, while US tariffs on certain imports have reduced to zero. He noted that US imports into India are to go up from $46 billion to $146 billion. Terming this situation as absolutely ‘absurd’, he said, “They have no commitment to us, but we have a commitment to them. We are going to add $100 billion a year to their imports, and they have no commitment to us. We're just standing there like fools.”

On agriculture, Shri Rahul Gandhi remarked that for the first time in Indian history, our farmers are facing a storm. Makka, soyabean, Lal Jowar, Kapas, you have opened the door to mechanise American farms. Thousands and thousands of acres of each farm, you have opened the door to crush our poor farmers. It is disgraceful! No Prime Minister has ever done this before and let me tell you, no Prime Minister after you, is ever going to do it.

“The government has opened Indian markets to heavily mechanised American farms producing corn, soybean and cotton, posing a threat to Indian farmers,” he said.

Raising concerns about the textile sector, he pointed out that Bangladesh has secured zero tariffs from the US, placing Indian exporters at a disadvantage.

The most valuable asset that India has and will ever have, has been handed over. Our farmers have been left to the mercy of mechanised massive American farms. Our textiles have been wiped out. Bangladesh now, is going to wipe out our textile industry, our energy security has been handed over. We can’t buy oil from who we want to buy from… now, I don’t believe any Indian Prime Minister would do this. So, this is a wholesale surrender and it is a tragedy because it is a surrender, not just of the Prime Minister, he has surrendered the future of 1.5 billion Indians and he has surrendered the future, because he wants to protect the BJP’s financial architecture on which, there is a case in the United States.

Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi also linked and compromised the trade deal to what he described as external pressures arising from cases in the United States, including the Adani case and references to the Epstein files. He alleged that the Prime Minister had compromised national interest to protect his political position, saying that India’s future had been bartered to safeguard the BJP’s interests linked to cases under examination in the United States.