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✍️ Written by Saket Suman India’s political divide over the US–Israel–Iran war has sharpened as the Congress and Left parties have accused the Modi government of “silence” and “moral cowardice” over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , while the government has simultaneously expanded high-level outreach to Gulf leaders , activated trade and energy contingency mechanisms , and reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy are the only viable path to restore regional stability. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in an opinion piece in a mainstream daily, argued that New Delhi’s lack of a clear response to the assassination of Khamenei amounted to an “abdication” rather than neutrality and risked normalising targeted killings as instruments of statecraft.  File Photo; Via: LoP Raga She framed the killing of a sitting leader during a diplomatic process as a rupture in contemporary international relations and...

India’s political confrontation over protest, dissent and democratic rights has further intensified this week after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi government of criminalising peaceful protest. This drew sharp rebuttals from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and has now deepened an already volatile national debate which is unfolding alongside recent arrests linked to demonstrations at the India AI Impact Summit. File Photo of Rahul Gandhi; Via: Jairam Ramesh In a post on X written in Hindi , Rahul Gandhi said that under what he described as a “compromised PM,” peaceful dissent had been turned into the “biggest crime,” alleging that India was being pushed toward a system where disagreement is labelled “anti-national” and questioning authority treated as conspiracy.  “Peaceful protest is not a crime — it is the soul of democracy,” Rahul Gandhi wrote, and argued that democracy becomes stronger when governments “listen to criticism, respond a...

A day after a brief shirtless protest disrupted the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the Indian National Congress has publicly backed the demonstrators and escalated a political confrontation over the limits of protest at high-profile international events and the substance of India’s trade policy. Protest Screengrab; Via: Ranoj Pegu On February 20, a group of 10 to 15 young men linked to the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), the youth wing of the Congress party, entered Hall No. 5 of the summit venue using valid entry passes or QR codes, according to police statements.  Inside the exhibition hall, they removed white T-shirts printed with red graphics featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face and the words “PM IS COMPROMISED,” held them aloft like placards and chanted slogans targeting the Prime Minister and his government.  Compromised प्रधानमंत्री के खिलाफ युवाओं का 'हल्ला बोल' ✊ pic.twitter.com/FVmGjIuPYn — Congress (@INCIndia) Febr...

India’s Parliament saw a fresh political clash on Wednesday, February 11, after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi used the Lok Sabha debate on the Union Budget 2026–27 to attack the India–US interim trade deal and allege that it compromises India’s interests on data, energy security and farming. This prompted the government to accuse him of making unsubstantiated claims and to signal action to remove or expunge parts of his remarks from the House record. Image Source: Who_Care on X Speaking during the Budget discussion, Rahul Gandhi argued that India is entering an era of heightened geopolitical conflict and “energy and financial weaponisation,” and said the country’s core strengths—its people, the data they generate, food supply and energy—must be protected.  He alleged that the interim deal represented a “wholesale surrender,” claiming it involved “free data flow” to the United States, no data localisation, limits on digital taxation, and no requirement for source code disclo...

Opposition parties led by the Congress on Tuesday submitted a formal notice seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla , escalating an ongoing confrontation with the government over the conduct of parliamentary proceedings during the Budget Session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. amid continued disruptions. Representational Collage, Via: Alok Sharma Chief Whip of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Kodikunnil Suresh and party Whip Mohammed Jawed Ahmed handed over the notice to Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh, sources confirmed. The motion has been moved under Article 94(c) of the Constitution, which allows a resolution for the removal of the Speaker to be submitted with a mandatory 14-day notice period. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the notice was submitted at 1:14 p.m. and accused the Speaker of conducting House business in a “blatantly partisan manner.”  He said Opposition parties had repeatedly raised concerns that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok...

India’s Budget Session entered a fresh day of disruption on Monday, February 9, 2026, with the Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid a continuing confrontation between the government and the Opposition over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ’s insistence that he be allowed to speak before the general discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 begins.  The stand-off unfolded as Parliament was scheduled to start its first full round of debate on the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, even as the Rajya Sabha proceeded with a day-long discussion on budget priorities, fiscal policy and competing claims about growth, jobs and the distribution of central resources among States. File Photo of LoP RaGa; Via: Bharat Jodo on X The Lok Sabha opened with Speaker Om Birla congratulating India’s Under-19 men’s cricket team for its World Cup victory before Question Hour began, but proceedings were quickly interrupted by Opposition sloganeering demanding that Rahul G...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to mount a broad political attack on the Congress, the Nehru-Gandhi family and other opposition parties, as opposition members raised slogans and later walked out. Representational Image of PM NaMo; via:NationPress This ultimately turned the Budget Session’s escalating confrontation into a sharper exchange over parliamentary conduct, identity politics and competing claims of national interest. In a nearly 100-minute speech delivered amid sloganeering, Modi accused the Congress leadership of habitual wrongdoing and made a pointed reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s surname, saying, “For some people, stealing is a family profession. What’s shocking is that those habitual thieves have also stolen surname of a Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi.”  He followed with a separate jibe framed around “startup culture,” claiming the Congress “never promoted start...

Proceedings in the Lok Sabha were once again adjourned for the day within seconds of the House assembling on Wednesday evening for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s expected reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.  This unfolded in the wake of the renewed opposition protests that triggered chaos in the chamber and forced the cancellation of his speech. Representational Image of PM NaMo; Source: NationPress The House had reconvened at around 5 pm amid indications that the Prime Minister would address members, but disorder broke out immediately as Congress MPs entered the Well and aisles of the Lok Sabha. They were seen raising slogans against the suspension of eight Opposition members during the ongoing Budget Session of the Indian Parliament .  Several women MPs from the Opposition blocked access to the treasury benches, including the Prime Minister’s seat, and displayed a large banner reading “Do what is right.”  With the disruption escal...

India’s Parliament remained paralysed on Tuesday as Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi escalated his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi , alleging that the recently announced India–United States trade agreement was concluded under “immense pressure” and linking the deal to what he described as two external “pressure points” involving industrialist Gautam Adani and the release of material connected to Jeffrey Epstein . Representational Image Source: LoP RaGa Speaking to reporters outside Parliament after repeated adjournments of the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister had been “compromised” and accused him of “selling the country” through the trade agreement that reduced U.S. tariffs on Indian exports to 18% from 25% . Rahul Gandhi said the agreement, which had been stalled for several months, was suddenly finalised because of pressure that could damage the Prime Minister’s image.  “There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra M...

The Budget Session of India’s Parliament descended into repeated disruptions on Monday after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from the unpublished memoir of former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. This triggered sharp objections from the treasury benches and forced multiple adjournments before the House was suspended for the day. Rahul Gandhi ups the ante on national security; via: Shaandelhite The confrontation unfolded when Rahul Gandhi rose to respond to remarks made earlier by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who had criticised the Congress party’s record on nationalism .  Rahul Gandhi said he wished to counter those allegations by referring to passages concerning India’s military standoff with China , which he attributed to Naravane’s memoir, titled Four Stars of Destiny , and to a magazine article that had cited the unpublished book.  Highlights of Speech 02 Feb, 2026 S...