New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asserted that an INDIA bloc government would have negotiated any agreement with the United States on “equal terms” and would not have allowed India to be treated “equal to Pakistan.”
Participating in the discussion on the Union Budget of India, Gandhi sought what he termed “creative freedom” and used analogies from martial arts to explain political negotiations and strategy.
“The foundation of martial arts starts with the grip. Without the grip, nothing happens. First comes the grip, then the second grip, and then it leads to the choke… At one point, you can see it in the opponent’s eyes, and he knows that he has lost the game, and then he taps and surrenders… Grip, choke and tap… grip is seen in martial arts, but not in politics,” he said.
Referring to the Economic Survey, Gandhi said it pointed to two major global shifts — intensifying geopolitical conflict and the weaponisation of energy and finance. He disagreed with statements suggesting that the era of war is over.
“We are moving from a world of stability to instability. You can see war in Ukraine, war was there in Gaza, war in the Middle East, the threat of war in Iran. So we are moving into a world of instability,” he said.
He also agreed with the Survey’s observation that the dominance of the US dollar is being challenged and that the global order may shift from a unipolar to a multipolar structure.
Data as India’s Strategic Asset
Gandhi emphasised the strategic importance of data in the age of artificial intelligence.
“Everyone talks about AI, but talking about AI is like talking about the internal combustion engine without talking about petrol. The petrol for AI is data. If you have AI and you don’t have data, you are nothing,” he said.
He argued that India’s vast population gives it one of the world’s largest data pools, making it a critical asset in global negotiations.
“In the 21st century, what we put on the table is our people — their wisdom, imagination, likes, dislikes and fears. Population is not a disaster; it is the biggest asset you can have,” he said.
On India-US Trade Understanding
Speaking about the interim trade arrangement with the United States, Gandhi said that if the INDIA bloc were in power, it would have clearly told US President Donald Trump that India must be treated as an equal partner.
“We would have said, President Trump, the most important thing in this equation is Indian data. You want to protect your dollar, we are your friends, but you must talk to us as equals, not as servants,” he said.
He added that an INDIA bloc government would have prioritised India’s energy security and farmers in negotiations.
“Our energy security is our energy security, and we are going to protect it. We understand you need to protect your farmers, but we will also protect our farmers,” he said.
Gandhi further alleged that the trade arrangement could restrict India’s strategic autonomy in energy procurement. “The US will now decide where we buy our oil from, and if we buy oil from a country they do not approve of, they will punish us with tariffs,” he claimed.
Political Undertones
Gandhi also remarked that an INDIA bloc government would have responded firmly to Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir’s meeting with the US President, adding that India should not be placed on the same footing as Pakistan in global diplomacy.
Concluding his remarks, Gandhi criticised what he described as the government’s lack of solutions to counter the “weaponisation of energy” and argued that while the Budget acknowledges key global challenges, it does not adequately address them.
The debate on the Union Budget is expected to continue amid sharp exchanges between the ruling party and the Opposition over economic strategy, foreign policy and India’s position in a rapidly changing global order.
