Parliament Session: Rahul Gandhi to intervene in ongoing discussion on Budget in Lok Sabha

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will intervene in the ongoing discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Lower House on Wednesday.

Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue discussion on the Union Budget today.

On Tuesday, as both Houses discussed the Budget, the Opposition MPs took the opportunity to slam the Centre over the framework of the India-United States interim trade agreement.

Initiating the discussion in the Lower House, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the framework of the deal "appears far less like a free trade agreement and far more like a pre-committed purchase that overturns the very idea of reciprocity".

"How can one justify a so-called reciprocal tariff structure where tariffs of 18 per cent apply on one side and zero on the other? At a moment when India's total bilateral trade with the US is approximately 130 billion USD, and our trade surplus is only about 45 billion USD, how have we undertaken to purchase 500 billion USD worth of American goods over five years? This converts a surplus into a prolonged deficit not through market forces, but through executive assurances. No major economy has ever voluntarily undermined its own trade leverage in this fashion," he said.

The Congress MP slammed the Union Budget as a "squandered opportunity", alleging that it ignores unemployment, rising living costs, and inequality and offers little to address the real struggles and aspirations of the common man.

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav asserted that the government has not negotiated a favourable deal with the Trump administration. He stressed the need to "focus on ground realities".

Speaking in the Lower House, Akhilesh Yadav said, "America se deal nahi dheel hui hai...Kyu jhoothe khayalon mein din-raat kare, jo banate hai hawa mein baaton ke mahal aao unse kuch zameeni baat karein. (Why waste day and night in false thoughts, let's talk to those who build castles in the air about something real)."

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the Budget for 2026-27 on February 1. She proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Union Budget.

Sitharaman made big announcements ahead of the legislative assembly election in West Bengal later this year. The Union Minister said the government will establish new dedicated freight corridors connecting Dangkuni in West Bengal in the east to Surat in the west.

The Budget Session, which began on January 28, comprises 30 sittings over 65 days and will conclude on April 2. The two Houses will adjourn for a recess on February 13 and reconvene on March 9 to enable the Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments.