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In this episode of Newstrack, the focus is on the uproar in the Lok Sabha following Rahul Gandhi's critique of the Union Budget and the India-US trade deal.
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00:00Hello everyone here watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shakila.
00:04Showdown like never before inside the Lok Sabha.
00:07The Lok Sabha witnessed a major uproar following leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi's scathing critique of the union budget and
00:15the India-US trade deal.
00:17Rahul Gandhi in fact accused the government of selling the nation, a charge that sparked an immediate and heated response
00:24from ruling party members.
00:26And this remark has now been expunged.
00:29Government leaders dismissed the allegations asserting that no one could sell India and praise the country's leadership under a strong
00:38prime minister.
00:39His abstain claims, which are now expunged, also got a sharp rebuttal from Union Minister Hardeep Singh Kuri.
00:47And as the day comes to an end, the question now is who won this round of what awards?
00:53I'm going to take those questions to the guests who will be joining me shortly.
00:57But more news that is coming in.
00:59Significant portions of Rahul Gandhi's speech today have been now expunged.
01:03In fact, this includes all the controversial remarks that he made with regards to the U.S. trade deal and
01:10the nation being sold.
01:12The statements, which were widely criticized as inappropriate, have now been removed from the official record,
01:19sparking debate over the limits of parliamentary speech and the sensitivity of such allegations.
01:25So what we can tell our viewers now is that all those portions will now be not recorded as directed
01:35by the by the chair,
01:38which is the looks of our speaker's office.
01:41He had used a lot of these words, which included nation has been sold.
01:45The nation has sold out nonsense.
01:48A number of these words have now been expunged.
01:50Piyush Mishra is joining us.
01:52Piyush, give us the details.
01:55We have now got information that a large portion of Rahul Gandhi's speech today,
02:02which was their own budget, has been expunged by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
02:05And the words like nonsense, shameful, have been expunged.
02:08The words like sold India.
02:11The words like, are you ashamed of wrestling India?
02:13Do you feel no shame in selling India?
02:15These were the statements that were used by Rahul Gandhi.
02:18And all these things have now been expunged by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
02:22It also, the words like extreme Mr. Adani.
02:27And also, the kind of connotation which took place between Rahul Gandhi and Jabhendikapal,
02:32when Rahul had told Jabhendikapal that Jabhendikapal was once a member of Congress Party.
02:40That has also been expunged by the Lok Sabha Secretariat,
02:43which is actually indicating that these were the words which had no context with the discussion on budget.
02:49And that's why these words were including extreme, Adani, shameful, nonsense.
02:55All these things have now been expunged by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
02:58All right, Pyush, thank you for joining us.
03:00And let me take all those questions to BJP's Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha and Member of Parliament,
03:07Sanjay Jaiswal, who's joining me now.
03:09Sanjay Jaiswal, Rahul Gandhi has questioned the absence of transparency
03:13and has said that the national interest behind the trade deal has been compromised.
03:18Can the government then categorically state that no sector of India's economy is being compromised?
03:27Piyush Goyal has said it very clearly.
03:30But the real question is, today was day of budget.
03:34He was supposed to speak on budget.
03:37Does he spoke even one single sentence about budget?
03:42Nor he did bother that I oppose the budget or I oppose these funds.
03:47I think that when he left his house, instead of taking his speech,
03:51somebody else prepares his speech,
03:54instead of taking the speech of what he has to speak on budget,
03:57he bought the papers of India-U.S. deal.
04:03And that's why he couldn't speak even one single line on the budget,
04:09that what kind of budget it is, it's good or it's bad.
04:12Other MPs like Venu Gopal, Karthi Chidamram, everyone,
04:17it's not a question of pro or against, but they spoke on budget.
04:21Interestingly, the leader of opposition doesn't knows at what time what to speak.
04:26And India-U.S. deal is absolutely transparent.
04:31Mr. Piyush Goyal has said it very clearly.
04:34The finer details will come in March.
04:37And even before March, he is speaking something which nobody knows.
04:44Under our prime minister's leadership, we are never going to compromise our interest.
04:50And that was the reason that we faced 25% additional tariff,
04:56we faced 25% tariff, 50% tariff we were facing.
05:00But we didn't spoke anything against them, but we didn't bow to them.
05:06And they announced the deal.
05:08They told to the media, it came on X of Mr. Trump, not by us,
05:15that India-U.S. deal has happened.
05:17Okay.
05:18See, we are having a huge surplus exports against U.S.
05:26So, we cannot live an important country.
05:29But we decided that we will have a deal in our own term.
05:34After FDA with Europe, U.S. administration was under pressure.
05:40We have seen that they have refused to take us in Pax Silica.
05:44We said that we will care about our own rare earth minerals.
05:48We will care about our own permanent magnet.
05:51And the U.S. was forced to ask India to join Pax Silica.
05:58That's the power of India.
06:00We will become third biggest economy next year.
06:04And no one can avoid us.
06:07We have never bowed down to any pressure by the U.S.
06:12And everything has happened on our own term.
06:16Okay.
06:17U.S. was strong since last five years.
06:20We never stopped our deal with Russia or Iran.
06:23Okay.
06:24Mr. Jaswal, you are maintaining that everything has happened on India's terms.
06:29You have, you know, there is this allegation which has come with regards to data.
06:34That in this trade deal, our data is being compromised.
06:38How will you respond to that?
06:45I told you Rahul Gandhi forward to take his budget speech.
06:48He was saying that you are giving tax holiday to the data companies for 20 years.
06:55He hasn't read the budget.
06:57The budget clearly states that any data center opening in India will have a tax holiday.
07:04So, we want that all data centers should come to India.
07:09They should open here.
07:10We cannot allow VR software giants.
07:14But we want to become best in AI.
07:16We want to become best in hardware also.
07:19And that's why the government has given PLI on different schemes.
07:23We have given PLI on semiconductor.
07:25Now, we are going one step ahead and we are taking care of rare earth minerals and permanent magnets and
07:31data center.
07:32He didn't read the words also.
07:35He said, why you are giving 20 years tax holiday?
07:38Do we need that all data centers should be outside India?
07:43Mr. Rahul Gandhi has always compromised and UPA government has always compromised in front of WTO when they signed a
07:51pact in which we will be not allowed to do free distribution of our PDS.
07:56They signed a pact with Pakistan in 2009 in Sharm al-Sheikh that, okay, terrorism will continue.
08:03It doesn't have any problem, but we will keep our business together with India and Pakistan.
08:07A UPA government which has compromised at each and every level is talking about us.
08:15The whole nation knows the integrity of Mr. Narendh Bhai Modi ji.
08:19The whole nation knows the integrity of NDA government.
08:23And what we have achieved till now, my simple question is, in 2004, we were 11th biggest economy.
08:32In 2014, also, we were 11th biggest economy.
08:35We are not able to, even one step ahead.
08:39And Mr. Chidamram himself said that in 2043, we can become third economy.
08:46And we are talking about in 2027, we will be the third economy of the world.
08:53And that shows what kind of policy Mr. Modi is leading in India.
08:57Okay, Dr. Jaswal, I must ask you this question because you are the chief whip of the BJP in the
09:01Lok Sabha.
09:02Help us understand what exactly happened on that day when those visuals have started coming out of women MPs near
09:10Prime Minister's chair.
09:11The charge that is coming in from the Treasury benches is that there was an attempt to gherau the Prime
09:16Minister.
09:16On the other hand, the opposition MPs maintain that it is perfectly all right for them to cross over from
09:23their assigned seats to the side on which the government MPs and leaders sit.
09:29So why is there so much of suspicion and mistrust between the two sides?
09:33Why is an act that the opposition calls parliamentary protest being interpreted by the government as an attempt to intimidate?
09:42Where exactly is the trust going?
09:45I mean, why is there a breakdown of trust?
09:50Can you give a single example in last 77 years that any opposition members and that too with a huge
10:00banner have stepped on our side?
10:04We have seen in Congress that they shout in the well even on the Treasury side.
10:10But BJP, you can never give one single example that we have crossed even half mark in well.
10:18I still remember in 2010, we, two, three young MPs, at that time we crossed the half mark.
10:26And Sushma Swarajji was, has called all the MPs from the well and she told us, sit on your chair,
10:35how dare you went towards the Treasury side?
10:37And these ladies didn't only, were there on the, in the well on our side, they crossed three steps.
10:45Means they surrounded the entry passage of Prime Minister, they surrounded the passage of our Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
10:54And they have reached at the level of where the State Parliamentary Affairs sit.
11:00No one, no one was able to go on these three roads.
11:04If something would have happened, it would have happened very awkwardly.
11:08But because if our Honorable Prime Minister would have come, there would have been a scene which never thought,
11:15because we will never allow that somebody can stop our Prime Minister not to sit in his seat.
11:21So the Speaker's decision, we didn't want to comment on it and he took a decision and our Honorable Prime
11:28Minister agreed for that.
11:30But on, you just see Rahul's part, when he was speaking on President's speech, he said, I authenticate my paper.
11:38And he put the papers in the well, he didn't sign the paper.
11:41That time also he said, I am authenticating it.
11:45And they said, you put the papers on table.
11:48He didn't sign his paper that he has, he will, he is authenticating it.
11:53Today also the same scene was created.
11:56He said, I authenticate it.
11:57Instead of authenticating the papers, the proof, the statement, he was bringing one plain page.
12:05I don't know what was written there.
12:06And he said, I am authenticating it.
12:08How a leader of opposition can be so foolish that he doesn't know how to authenticate in Parliament.
12:16All right, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, really appreciate your time.
12:19In fact, the tension between the opposition and the Treasury benches is only likely to escalate now.
12:25The government has decided that they will be moving privilege motion against leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, that
12:31is Rahul Gandhi.
12:32Sources are saying that privilege motion notices are likely to be given against Rahul Gandhi tomorrow.
12:38And this is coming after a major portion of Rahul Gandhi's speech was expunged.
12:43So now, it is the privilege motion, notice, which is likely to be served.
12:48That is something that's going to happen tomorrow.
12:51Piyush is joining us.
12:53So, Piyush, what should we be expecting in Parliament tomorrow?
12:57Well, Mario, like you rightly mentioned that yes, the tension is going to split between government and the opposition tomorrow.
13:03As the sources, top sources in the government have confirmed to us that the notice, the privilege notice against Rahul
13:11Gandhi is to be filed tomorrow by a senior BGP MP there in Lok Sabha.
13:17Remember that the grounds of filing this notice would be of missing the House and making baseless statements.
13:24You would remember that today, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sir Kyl Rizuru had requested Rahul Gandhi to substantiate the kind
13:31of allegations that she was making.
13:32While speaking today in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had made a few allegations without serving the proper notice.
13:40and he had dragged the Union Minister and also Prime Minister into making the day-to-day allegations,
13:45following which he had done a press conference and had said that he would have to substantiate
13:49with this kind of allegations, which he is making, and if he doesn't do that,
13:53then the government would move forward to filed previous notice against Rahul Gandhi.
13:58But what we are now learning is that Rahul Gandhi has not substantiated the allegations that he made,
14:02and that's why tomorrow, most likely, the previous notice will be filed against Rahul Gandhi.
14:07Okay, so it looks like that in the next two days that is there of this part of the budget
14:14session,
14:14there will be only, no work perhaps, only tension between the two sides.
14:19Joining me on the show tonight now is Senior Congress Leader and Congress MP, Renika Chaudhary.
14:25Ma'am, multiple BJP leaders from Sudhanshutri Vedi to Union Minister Hardeep Puri,
14:29all of them have addressed press conferences, and they have accused Rahul Gandhi of damaging India's credibility.
14:33Is the Congress then willing to admit any lapse, or will you simply call this political propaganda?
14:43Tell me, what does it appear to all of you?
14:46Obviously, it's political propaganda.
14:49This government is now outstanding in their ability to divert and dilute the direction of any narrative against them.
15:01So, they don't want to address the real issues.
15:04What did RG say? What did Rahul Gandhi say?
15:07What is it that they have taken so much offense?
15:10Is it something that he has fictitiously created?
15:14No.
15:15There's damning evidence of what has happened.
15:19Either you answer, but the shoot and scoot, the way they do it,
15:23they're so terrified, and they don't realize the more they try to cover up, the more obvious it gets.
15:30But, Renika Ji, the BJP says that there are, in fact, sell-out incidents of the UPA era.
15:37That during the oil deal with the former Iraq President Saddam Hussein, Congress Leader,
15:42then Natwar Singh was forced to resign.
15:44And during the Indo-US nuclear deal, a Congress leader was under the lens for money-arranged claims.
15:50So, Rahul Gandhi's allegations lack any kind of evidence.
15:54Why hasn't the Congress issued a clear evidence-backed clarification instead of broad political counter-attacks?
16:04Let us assume for a second that this is the truth.
16:08Why did they have to wait till today to expose this?
16:11What were they doing for the past 11 years?
16:15Why haven't they addressed this earlier?
16:18So, this is what I mean.
16:20All that they can do is rewind and replay history and amend it according to what suits them,
16:27or quote out of context, so that they can divert the national attention from what the real issues are.
16:35What is the big deal is what we are asking.
16:38What is this great deal that you have signed with the U.S.?
16:42That you are actually patting yourself on the back at the cost of every Indian.
16:47All our data is up for the take.
16:51Is that what we are all about?
16:54So, if Rahul Gandhi questions that, suddenly they do this rewind, replay of history.
16:59This is amazing.
17:01What did you all do?
17:02You were there then too.
17:04You were sitting in the opposition then.
17:07So, did you do a walkout?
17:09Did you stall?
17:09Did you fight?
17:10Did you put it on record?
17:12Okay.
17:14That now you come out and say all this, and so Rahul Gandhi has to be the villain for this
17:19evening.
17:19Right.
17:19Okay.
17:20Is then...
17:21He is quite used to being the punching bag for the BJP.
17:24Is the Congress then...
17:25And the more they hit him, the more he is going to hit out hard.
17:28Okay.
17:28Is the Congress then prepared to defend Rahul Gandhi line by line in what he said?
17:32Or is the party now worried that detailed scrutiny could politically backfire?
17:40We do not need to defend Rahul Gandhi because he is speaking on facts.
17:47He is speaking on the real issues.
17:50He is echoing what the citizens across this country and in this supposed democracy of ours
17:56are saying.
17:58He is articulating what is in everybody's minds.
18:02He doesn't need the Congress Party to defend him.
18:04The government needs the defense because right from the prime minister to the speaker in
18:11the Lok Sabha, they don't even attend the house.
18:15They're so terrified.
18:17And manufacturing all these cooked up stories about women going and beating them up.
18:22And supposedly, I mean, this baseless nonsense that they keep dishing out to the country
18:29in their weak attempts to divert the real issue.
18:33Come to the real issue.
18:35You have opened the doors for the U.S. to dump their fodder onto our cattle.
18:41The same cattle for whom you lynch people.
18:45You have done that.
18:46You are...
18:47What is DDS?
18:48Tell us.
18:49Expand on it.
18:50Educate the country.
18:52You are so...
18:53You are telling us that you've done such a great deal that it's 18% and you're so thrilled.
18:58What was it earlier?
19:00It had gone up to so much and come down to 18% which is not going back to the
19:04original
19:05percentage that we had.
19:07I mean, how long are you people going to pull the wool over people's eyes?
19:11How long are you going to lie, tell untruths about real situations?
19:18Okay.
19:19This is amazing.
19:20And suddenly, if you see across the country, Mother Dairy, Amul, everything is contaminated
19:25because it's going to be wonderful to be eating American food.
19:28Is that it?
19:29Is that why we are doing this?
19:32If not, what are you doing about it?
19:35How are you going to protect the Indian?
19:37What about our data?
19:38I don't want my data to be in foreigners' hands.
19:41I don't like it.
19:42You are willing to give wave, water, electricity, which you won't give my villagers.
19:47You won't give my farmers.
19:50Rural India still staggers under powerful power bills.
19:53Okay, Ms. Chaudhary.
19:54You won't give it to them.
19:56You'll give endless water.
19:58Okay, it's part of the deal.
20:00Sure.
20:00At what cost?
20:02Okay, Ms. Chaudhary.
20:02We are asking.
20:03Answer.
20:04Let me ask you my last question.
20:06You know, these are sensitive trade negotiations.
20:09Many would say it demands national consensus.
20:13Does the Congress accept that public criticism by Rahul Gandhi could complicate India's ongoing trade talks?
20:19And if you disagree with the government's trade strategy,
20:21why not present a concrete alternative instead of statements of what the BJP is now claiming
20:30that hurts India's credibility abroad?
20:37India is not so fragile.
20:40I'll remind you of the time when Indira Gandhi stood up against the then-president of the U.S.
20:46and walked out with her spine absolutely erect and came back to India and put her foot down
20:53and we moved into action mode.
20:55This is not the only government that's dealing sensitive issues and trade discussions and all this.
21:03Let me tell you one thing, Maria.
21:05What we've got to realize is there are no secrets anymore in politics.
21:11It's the most transparent system because everybody is spying over each other
21:17and every word that you're talking is being recorded even as we have this conversation.
21:24Everything is obvious across the world.
21:27The U.S. can sit and watch you brush your teeth and shave in the mornings, right?
21:33So don't kid yourself that these are sensitive trade negotiations.
21:37We know everything, by the way.
21:39There's enough information pouring out for those who are interested on finding it.
21:45So let's not get into this high drama that there's a sensitive...
21:49We are not discussing nuclear policy at this point.
21:52Manmohan Singhji discussed that and pulled off a coup.
21:56And at that time, who were the people who were opposing it?
21:59Who were the people ridiculing him?
22:01This was the Prime Minister who called him Mauni Baba.
22:04Maybe he should take a page from that and keep quiet for a while.
22:08Trump, Sarkar, Bayab, Kibar and all this has cost us this.
22:14Because they have downgraded the respect that India had.
22:19They see us as pliable.
22:21They see us as vulnerable.
22:24And they see us as someone they can bully.
22:27Okay.
22:28And that is what is happening.
22:30We are not able to stand up to the bully that the U.S. is doing.
22:36And so answer, come forth.
22:39Take the people into confidence.
22:42Okay.
22:43All right.
22:44Renika Chaudhary, thank you for your time here on India Today.
22:47Of course, two more days for this session of Parliament to end.
22:52And certainly it looks like that the tension between the two sides is all set to escalate tomorrow onwards.
22:59That's all from me.
23:00This remains our top focus here on India Today.
23:02Thanks so much for watching.
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