‘Now US will decide who we buy oil from not our Prime Minister’: Top quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha | India News
New Delhi: Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the government during discussions on the Union Budget 2026-27, alleging that India’s strategic autonomy is being compromised and that key decisions on energy and economic policy are increasingly influenced by the global power equation.In a pointed comment targeting the Centre’s foreign and trade policy, Rahul Gandhi said, “Now the US will decide that we will not buy oil from our Prime Minister,” and accused the government of undermining India’s negotiating position in an unstable and rapidly changing global system.
Key quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s speech
- “What is the first thing you need to understand when you move into a dangerous world? I like to call home our strength, the central strength is our 1.4 billion bright, energetic, dynamic people who can challenge anyone in the world.”
- “Talking about AI is like talking about internal combustion engines without petrol, petrol for AI is data”
- “Indian Data Key to Keeping US a Superpower”
- “You are not ashamed to sell India”
- “If Americans want to remain superpower, protect their dollar, Indian data is key”
- “Population is a power but only if you recognize that data matters”
- “If the India bloc had been negotiating with President Trump, we would have said ‘This is the most important factor in the equation
Indian data ‘” - “We will tell President Trump, if you want to access Indian data, you have to talk to us equally”
Quoting economic surveys, Rahul Gandhi said the world is entering an era of geopolitical conflict and instability.“I was looking at the economic survey and there were two points that I found, solid points, deep points that I liked. First point, we’re living in a world of intensifying geopolitical conflict… the hegemony of the United States is being challenged by the Chinese, the Russians, other powers. The second thing is that we live in a world of energy and financial weaponization. The main point they are making here is that we are moving from a world of stability to a world of instability.“He also said, “The Prime Minister said, and the NSA said tragically a while back, that the age of war is over. In fact, we are moving into an age of war. You see that there is war in Ukraine, there was war in Gaza, there is war in the Middle East, there is a threat of war in Iran. We have operated in Sindur. So we are challenging the world through the dollar game. Friends, on the other hand, understand that the dollar is being challenged, the US hegemony is being challenged. We’re moving from a world of superpowers into some new world that we can’t really predict…”Rahul Gandhi argued that India’s huge data pool gives it leverage in global negotiations. “Humans create data. We have the largest data pool on the planet. 1.4 billion people means huge amount of data is being generated in India. Everyone talks about AI but AI is like talking about internal combustion engine without petrol. Petrol for AI is data…. means if you have AI and you don’t have data, you have nothing. What are the two largest pools of data on the planet? Indian pool of data and Chinese pool of data.”Using a martial arts analogy, he said, “The sequence in martial arts is grip, choke and tap. This grip also exists in politics. But, in politics, grip, choke and tap are hidden”.He further said, “The budget recognizes that power and finance are being weaponized but there is nothing in the budget that addresses this”.Calling for protection, Rahul Gandhi added, “We need to protect people, data, food supply and energy systems”.He also warned about the disruptive effects of artificial intelligence. “I would warn the government that AI is going to have many consequences; top IT companies will struggle”.The Congress leader reiterated that India is entering a period of increasing uncertainty. “We are moving from a world of stability to a world of instability”.His comments came amid sharp exchanges between the opposition and the treasury bench during the ongoing budget session.
