'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' chants echo in Parliament as NDA workers hail PM Modi for India-US trade deal

PM Modi

• BJP workers celebrated PM Modi after US-India trade deal announcement by Trump
• US reduced tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18% citing respect for Modi
• Parliament heated over Rahul Gandhi's comments on China border tensions

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BJP workers on Tuesday felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting in the Parliament premises, raising slogans of "Vande Mataram," and "Bharat Mata ki Jai" after the Prime Minister secured a trade deal with US President Donald Trump.

The celebration followed Trump’s announcement that the United States and India "have agreed to a trade deal," under which Washington reduced the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, citing "out of friendship and respect" for Prime Minister Modi.

The details of the agreement were shared by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social. The announcement outlined tariff reductions and included claims that India would stop purchasing Russian oil. Earlier, Trump had imposed a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent linked to crude oil imports from Russia, as officials in his administration asserted that India’s oil purchases were supporting Russia’s war efforts.

Earlier in the day, BJP National President Nitin Nabin was formally welcomed at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister JP Nadda, and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

Meanwhile, both Houses of Parliament were scheduled to continue discussions on the motion of Thanks to the President’s Address during the ongoing Budget Session.

In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House saw a heated exchange between MPs from the NDA and the INDIA bloc during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s address, in which he referred to an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members objected strongly, alleging that Rahul Gandhi had violated House rules.

In the Rajya Sabha, BJP MP Sadanand Master moved the motion of thanks and delivered an emotional address on Monday, during which he placed his artificial limbs on the bench.

The motion follows President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses at the start of the Budget Session on January 28.

The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated disruptions and was eventually adjourned for the day after a prolonged stalemate over Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on speaking about a specific issue related to the 2020 border standoff with China, while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir by the former Army Chief. The House, which had begun discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, then 4 pm, and later for the day.

Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not refer to the unpublished book or article. When the House reconvened at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to continue his speech without mentioning the reference, stating that proceedings must be conducted in accordance with the rules.