NEW DELHI: Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the government during the discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27, alleging that India’s strategic autonomy is being compromised and that key decisions on energy and economic policy are increasingly influenced by global power equations.In a pointed remark targeting the Centre’s foreign and trade policy, Rahul Gandhi said, “Now US will decide who we buy oil from not our Prime Minister,” and accused the government of weakening India’s negotiating position in an unstable and rapidly changing global order.Key quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s speech
- “When you move into a dangerous world what is the first thing you have to understand? I’d like to tell the house our strengths, the central strength is our 1.4 billion people brilliant, energetic, dynamic who can challenge anybody in the world”
- “Talking about AI is like talking about the internal combustion engine without talking petrol, petrol for AI is data”
- “Indian data is key to keep United States superpower”
- “Are you not of ashamed of selling India”
- “If Americans want to remain superpower, protect their dollar, then key to that is Indian data”
- “Population is a strength but only if you recognise that data is important”
- “If INDIA bloc was negotiating with President Trump, we would say ‘most important thing in this equation is Indian data’”
- “We would tell President Trump, if you want access to Indian data, you will have to talk to us as an equal”
Citing the Economic Survey, Rahul Gandhi said the world is entering an era of intensifying geopolitical conflict and instability.“I was looking at the economic survey and two points I found there, solid points, profound points that I liked. First point, that we are living in a world of intensifying geopolitical conflict… The dominance of the United States is being challenged by the Chinese, by the Russians, by other forces. The second thing is that we are living in a world of energy and financial weaponisation. The main thing they are saying here is that we are moving from a world of stability to a world of instability.”He added, “Prime Minister stated, and NSA stated, shockingly, some time back, that the era of war is over. In fact, we are moving into the era of war. 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 operations in Sindoor. So we are moving into a world of instability. The dollar is being challenged. The central game, as my friends on the other side understand, is that 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…”Rahul Gandhi argued that India’s massive data pool gives it leverage in global negotiations. “People create data. We have the biggest data pool on the planet. 1.4 billion people means massive amount of data is being generated in India. Everybody talks about AI but talking AI is like talking about internal combustion engine without petrol. The petrol for AI is data…. meaning if you have AI and you don’t data, you have nothing. Which are the two biggest pools of data on the planet? The Indian pool of data and Chinese pool of data.”Using a martial arts analogy, he said, “In martial arts, the sequence is grip, choke, and tap. This grip also exists in politics. But, in politics the grip, choke, and tap remain hidden”.He further said, “Budget recognises energy and finance are being weaponised but nothing in budget that looks into this”.Calling for safeguards, Rahul Gandhi added, “We need to protect our people, data, food supply and energy system”.He also cautioned about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence. “I would warn govt AI is going to have many consequences; companies at forefront of information technology will struggle”.The Congress leader reiterated that India is entering a period of heightened uncertainty. “We are moving from a world of stability to a world of instability”.His remarks come amid sharp exchanges between the Opposition and the treasury benches during the ongoing Budget Session. Go to Source
