Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the government of selling ‘Bharat Mata’ and dubbed the India-U.S. interim trade agreement as one-sided which has hurt the interests of the farmers. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, he said, “You have sold India. Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother, Bharat Mata,” he said while referring to the trade agreement.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday has asked the Lok Sabha Secretariat to correct the shortcomings in the Opposition’s notice, seeking his removal from his Constitutional office, and proceed with the corrected notice.
Also read | Congress likely to focus on trade deal as Budget discussion gets underway in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will not preside over the business of the House until the Opposition’s notice for a motion seeking his removal is disposed of, sources said on Tuesday (February 10, 2026), citing “moral grounds” for the decision. Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday (Februrary 10, 2026) said “very ugly scenes” could have taken place had the BJP MPs been allowed to confront the Congress members on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was supposed to reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha.
