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Taking on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in relation to the India-US trade deal, the BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress leader of misleading Parliament on the basis of an “older version” of a fact sheet released by the US government.
BJP national media head and spokesperson Anil Baluni alleged that Rahul “did not merely critique the document” but engaged in a “selective reading of it” to deliberately misrepresent the Budget. “He misquoted it, misread it, and then built an argument on that distortion. Parliament deserves scrutiny grounded in facts, not selective readings and convenient misinterpretations. Deliberately misrepresenting the Budget weakens democratic debate and disrespects the intelligence of the people of India,” Baluni said on X.
Facts are clearly not the LoP’s strong suit.
Rahul Gandhi has once again chosen theatrics over truth, misleading both the House and the Nation. During today’s Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, he did not merely critique the document. He misquoted it, misread it, and then built…
— Anil Baluni (@anil_baluni) February 11, 2026
“Rahul Gandhi claims Indian data is being sold to the US. This claim is ridiculously false! The Budget proposed a tax break for companies setting up data centres in India until 2047. This will further India’s goal of data localisation…,” he added.
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‘No proposal to boost supply chains’
Baluni also termed Rahul’s claim that the Budget did not contain any proposal to fortify India’s supply chains in a globally volatile world “incorrect”, adding that the Budget document contains a proposal for rare earths, a new semiconductor mission that will focus on all the levels of the value chain, and several critical mineral corridors running through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
“Rahul Gandhi… stated that India was opening up its farming sector by allowing imports of pulses. However…the updated fact sheet of the US Government carries no mention of pulses…,” he added.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Baluni sought to underscore, has repeatedly stated that India is not opening the farming and dairy sector for the US and the same stance was maintained by the Modi government during its Free Trade Agreement with the European Union.
Close to 45% of India’s exports to the US including pharmaceuticals, electronic equipment, and gems and stones, are going to be “taxed at very low tariffs, even zero per cent” with effective average weighted tariffs on Indian goods expected to go down further once the deal is finalised.
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‘Rahul Gandhi’s claim based on old US govt document’
“Rahul Gandhi’s claim hinges on a document that no longer reflects reality. He is citing an older US government fact sheet that framed India’s proposed $500 billion purchases as a commitment,” he said.
“That language has since been corrected. The updated position is clear: India has expressed an intention, not a binding obligation, to purchase goods worth up to $500 billion over coming years…,” he added.
Taking on the LoP’s claim that India has compromised its energy security, Baluni said, despite “strong pressure from the Biden administration to stop buying Russian oil” in 2022, India had prioritised its national interest.
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“Imports from Russia rose from about 0.1 million barrels per day to nearly 2 million barrels per day in 2023. That was strategic autonomy, not surrender. The Modi government has shown it will bypass Western pressure to secure India’s energy needs. Rahul Gandhi’s argument has already been disproven, and it is worth recalling that his own party opposed Russian oil imports at the time,” Baluni added.
English (US) ·