Rahul dares PM to cancel trade agreement with US
This story was originally published at 19:51 IST on 24 February 2026
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NEW DELHI – Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Tuesday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "cancel" the trade agreement India has agreed to sign with the US. He said Modi does not have the courage to stand up to the US.
Addressing a "Kisan Maha Chaupal", or farmers' rally, in Bhopal, the senior Indian National Congress leader said that as soon as the US Supreme Court nullified the emergency and reciprocal tariffs levied by President Donald Trump through executive orders, several countries went back to renegotiate their respective trade deals with the US, but Modi "has not uttered a word". "I challenge Narendra Modi to cancel the trade deal with the US. He cannot do it," Gandhi said.
On Feb. 7, India and the US came out with a joint statement saying they have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement, per which the US would levy 18% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods while India "will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products". The opposition Congress has slammed this as a "trap deal" that would destroy India's farmers and its textile sector.
Gandhi claimed that the prime minister cannot cancel the deal because he is under pressure from Trump with the twin swords of the Epstein files and a criminal case in the US against industrialist Gautam Adani hanging over his head. End
Reported by Asim Khan
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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