NEW DELHI: In a no-holds-barred attack, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the government has "sold Bharat Mata" through the India-US interim trade deal and that it was a "wholesale surrender" with India's energy security handed over to America and farmers' interests compromised.
Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, Gandhi said he does not believe that any Indian prime minister, including Narendra Modi, would agree to such a deal unless there is a "chokehold" on him.
"Why has he (Modi) sold India -- because they (the US) are choking him. They have a grip on his neck," said Gandhi, who began his address with an analogy of how in martial arts after securing a grip, the next step is a chokehold, and then the opponent taps to give up.
The Congress leader noted that Prime Minister Modi and NSA Ajit Doval had stated some time back that the era of war is over.
"In fact, we are moving into the era of war. 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."
"We are moving into a dangerous world. We have to understand our strengths, and the central strength of our country is our people," he pointed out.
He underlined the need to protect the country's people, data, food supply and energy system.
Gandhi said that had an INDIA bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
"The first thing we would say (to Trump) is that the most important asset in this equation is Indian data. If the US wants to protect the dollar, it must recognise that Indian data is the biggest asset. Second thing, we would say to President Trump that 'if you want access to it, then you will talk to us as an equal, not talk to us as if we are your servants'," Gandhi said.
He said an INDIA bloc government would have told Trump that India's energy security is non-negotiable and "we are going to protect our energy security".
"The third thing we would have told President Trump is 'we understand you have an agricultural voter base, you need to protect farmers, but we will also protect our farmers'," the former Congress chief said.
"An INDIA bloc government would say that data is our biggest strength, and now let us talk. We would go there (for negotiating) as an equal. We will not be made equal to Pakistan. If President Trump decides that the Pakistan Army chief will have breakfast with him, we will have something to say about it," he said.
The LoP claimed that India's energy security was gone under the India-US interim trade deal, and the US will decide "who we buy oil from." "They will decide who we buy oil from, our PM will not decide. They will monitor, and if India buys oil (from where they don't want us to), they will punish us and take tariffs to 50 per cent," Gandhi said.
In a scathing attack on the government, Gandhi said it talks of energy and financial weaponisation, and yet, it has allowed the Americans to weaponise "our finance and our energy against us".
"How can you come to this House and defend this? Are you not ashamed of what you are giving away?" Gandhi said, slamming the treasury benches.
"I am saying you have sold India. Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother -- Bharat Mata. Do you have no shame?" he said.
MPs from the treasury benches repeatedly got up and accused Gandhi of making "baseless" allegations and asked him to authenticate his claims, to which he responded that he is willing to comply.
Gandhi also referred to a case against a businessman in the US. Jagdambika Pal, who was chairing the session, asked Gandhi not to name those who are not members of the House.
"I do not believe any Indian PM, including Modi, would sign such a deal unless there is a chokehold on him," he said.
Speaking with reporters outside the new Parliament building, Gandhi claimed that the names of Union minister Hardeep Puri and businessman Anil Ambani have figured in the 'Epstein Files' released in the US.
He said summons have also been issued in the ongoing case against Adani and the Indian government has not responded to them for the past 18 months.
"There is direct pressure on PM Modi. Without any pressure, no prime minister of India would ever compromise on matters concerning the country's farmers, data, energy security, and defence. No one would do this unless there is heavy pressure and a very chokehold over them," Gandhi told reporters.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "India-US Trade Deal has mortgaged the future of 140 crore Indians. Youths’ jobs are at stake, farmers’ crops are on the negotiating table, and energy security is being surrendered to the terms of a foreign country."
"No Prime Minister surrenders like this without massive pressure. India understands - this deal is not one of equals, it is one of compulsion. Whether from the Epstein files or the Adani Case - Modi ji has sacrificed national interest in his bid to save power," Gandhi said in his post.
In his address inside the House, Gandhi claimed that through this deal, the interests of farmers have been compromised, textiles have been wiped out, and energy security has been "handed over" to the US.
"This is a wholesale surrender," he alleged.
"It is a tragedy because it is not just a surrender of the PM; he has surrendered the future of 1.5 billion Indians. He has surrendered because he wanted to protect the BJP's financial architecture on which there is a case in the US," Gandhi said.
"We are heading into turbulent times, and the nation has been sold out. Its data has been sold, its farmers have been sold, all our software engineers have been sold out. Small and medium businesses have been sold out, our forces and our energy security has been sold out," Gandhi alleged.
Criticising the Indo-US deal, he claimed that the Modi government has given up control over digital trade rules, removed data localisation, allowed free flow of data to the US, limited digital tax and waived source code disclosure, while offering 20-year tax holidays to big tech companies.
On tariffs, at the beginning, there was a 3 per cent average, but it has now gone up to 18 per cent, he said.
US imports would go up from USD 46 billion to 146 billion, he said, adding that this is absurd.
While our tariff has gone up from 3 per cent to 18 per cent, theirs has come down from 16 to zero, he said.
"For the first time in Indian history, our farmers are facing a storm. You have opened the door to mechanised American farms spanning thousands of acres, effectively crushing our small farmers. It is disgraceful, and no Prime Minister before you has done this or after you will ever do this," Gandhi said.