Leveraging India's data as bargain chip could have eliminated taxes on farmers and SMBs: Rahul Gandhi on US deal

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (file image)

• Rahul Gandhi claims Indo-US deal gave India's data to the US
• He urges India to value its data as a key national resource
• He calls for political debate on data access and its value

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indo-US deal essentially handed over India's data to the United States of America and nobody, except him, uttered a word about it.

The claim by Rahul came while fielding queries on data protection during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram.

He said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.

"I mean, if in that deal, India turned around and said, listen, this is all fine, but our data is the most valuable data in the world, I can guarantee you there will be no taxes on agriculture. There would be no taxes on small and medium business. There would be none of that," Rahul, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha said.

He said that when going into a negotiation, one has to know what one has.

"We have a huge diversity. So, we can understand many different things from many different angles. We have the largest pile of data on this planet. We have the best engineering talent. We have the best medical talent.

"Kerala produces the best nurses. Now, come and negotiate with me. Don't negotiate with me without clearly understanding what I have got on my side. That is how it should be done," he said.

The LoP said that if Russia hands over its entire oil reserves to the US, there will be a lot of hue and cry there.

But, there was "not a peep" in India when its data was handed over to the US as part of the deal signed by the central government, he claimed.

He said that one of the central questions that politics of India need to discuss is how to utilise data that is the country's biggest resource, what is its nature, who has access to it and at what cost? "These are the questions actually the political system should be discussing. Not whether, you know, what we should eat and what we should drink and whether cow urine is good for you. So, it is actually a democratic exercise. It's a listening exercise, because really nobody has the answer," Rahul said.

He said that it has to be conversation with Indian businesses, the people of the country, the multinationals and the US.

"It is the most powerful conversation India can have," he added.