‘Congress govt surrendered before WTO, sold farmers,’ says Sitharaman, counters Rahul Gandhi’s charges
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Congress govt surrendered before WTO, sold farmers,’ says Sitharaman, counters Rahul Gandhi’s charges")
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaking on the Budget in Lok Sabha on Wednesday Photograph: (Screengrab from video on X)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman targeted Rahul Gandhi for his “traitor” remark about Ravneet Singh Bittu. She said Rahul told Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, that he respects him for his past in the Congress but did not show the same courtesy to Bittu.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his “Bharat Mata sold” remark over the India-US interim trade agreement and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “always acts in India’s interest,” while the Congress regime had surrendered before the WTO and “sold farmers” in the past. “PM Modi will always act in India’s interest, whereas the Congress government surrendered before the WTO and sold poor farmers during its regime,” said Sitharaman while replying to the debate on the Union Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha.
She also called Rahul Gandhi’s concerns over India’s data “incorrect” and said she would like to respond to all the points he made. She said the government is incentivising data centres so that the data stays in the country.
“…I would like to answer all his (Rahul Gandhi’s) points. He expressed concerns over AI and data, that India’s data is going out to foreign countries. This is not correct,” she said.
“We are incentivising data centres through which data can remain in India and Indian youth can get jobs.”
Sitharaman later posted a video clip of her speech in the Lok Sabha and said the ‘India AI Mission’ has a dedicated allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for 2026-2027.
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“Leader of the Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi expressed concerns over artificial intelligence and data. I want to tell that we are incentivising the setting up of Cloud and Data Centres in India, so that the data is stored here and our youth get employment opportunities. The India AI Mission has a dedicated allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for 2026-27,” she posted on X.
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Sitharaman further targeted Gandhi for his “traitor” remark about Ravneet Singh Bittu. She said Rahul told Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, that he respects him for his past in the Congress but did not show the same courtesy to Bittu.
“LoP Rahul Gandhi spoke on several issues. He spoke the language of jujutsu and martial arts—grip and control. He also told Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, that he respects him because he was once in his party. But he called Bittu a traitor, who was also once in his party,” she said.
