Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday said that Indian data is the most important factor in India’s equation with the United States of America. The Congress leader claimed that India’s tariffs were hiked from 3 per cent to 18 per cent, while those of the United States were reduced from 16 per cent to 0 per cent.
“While negotiating with [US] President Trump is that the most important thing in this equation is Indian data. You want to protect dollar, we are your friends. And we appreciate you and help you protect Dollar. The biggest asset for that is Indian people. Second thing we would say is President Trump if you want access to this data, you have to talk to us like equals,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi spoke in Lok Sabha for over 45 minutes over Budget 2026. Earlier in the day, the leaders of the Congress party walked out of the Lok Sabha Wednesday, following protests over refusal of the Chair PC Mohan to allow them to raise certain questions during the Question Hour.
“Not your servants. Second thing we would say Mr Trump please understand. Our energy security is our energy security. Third is we understand your voter base is farmers. But we will also protect our farmers. But the main thing I am saying that is the INDIA bloc govt will go and say data is our biggest strength. We will go there as equals. And we will not be made equal to Pakistan,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi hit out at the Centre, saying that the Indian government has fully surrendered to the US. “The point is that I don’t believe that an Indian PM, including Mr Modi, would sign the deal unless there was a chokehold on him,” he said in the House.
The Rae Bareli MP argued in the Lok Sabha that “Indian data” is the country’s most strategic asset in an increasingly unstable global order, claiming it could play a decisive role in the geopolitical contest between the United States and China.
The former Congress president said India’s greatest strength lies in its people and the data they generate, asserting that population should be seen not as a burden but as a national advantage in the 21st century.
“What we bring to the table is our people — their wisdom, what they do, their likes and dislikes, their imagination and their fear. In the 21st century, this has suddenly got value,” Gandhi said.
“Population is not a weight. It is the biggest asset you can have. But it is only a strength if you recognize that data.”
Gandhi said that in a contest between the United States and China, Indian data would be a decisive factor.
“If the INDIA alliance was negotiating with President Trump, the first thing we would say is that the most important thing in this equation is Indian data,” he said.
“If the Americans want to remain a superpower and protect their dollar, the key to that is Indian data.”
Referring to the Economic Survey, Gandhi said he found two “profound points”: intensifying geopolitical conflict and the weaponisation of energy and finance.
“The dominance of the United States is being challenged by China, by Russia and by other forces,” he said. “We are moving from a world of stability to a world of instability.”
If the Americans want to remain a superpower and protect their dollar, the key to that is Indian data.
He also took issue with earlier remarks by the Prime Minister and the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that “the era of war is over,” arguing instead that the world is entering a period marked by open conflict and strategic confrontation.
“There is war in Ukraine, war in Gaza, tensions in the Middle East, the threat of war around Iran. We ourselves conducted Operation Sindoor. We are moving into a world of instability,” Gandhi said.
