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On February 12, 2026 Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, heightened his attack on the Narendra Modi government with regard to the India-US interim trade agreement that had just been signed, promising to remain with farmers regardless of the threats of legal or parliamentary recourse. Gandhi has aggressively stated in a video message posted on X (now Twitter): "FIR a case is registered or a privilege motion is sought--I will fight on behalf of the farmers.

The scandal is due to the hot speech that Gandhi made in Parliament, he accused PM Modi of being anti-farmer and selling the country to foreign powers. He asserted that the trade structure threatens the food security of India by allowing subsidized US agricultural produce which is unfavorable to the Indian farmers in other fields such as cotton, soybean, apples and fruits. Gandhi emphasized the fact that US farmers enjoy large-scale operations with machinery usage, and government subsidies, whereas Indian small farmers are deprived of minimum support price (MSP).

This received a very negative response by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a substantive motion demanding the immediate expulsion of Gandhi into Lok Sabha claiming that he had led the House astray and caused conspiracies regarding the US deal. Gandhi was not deterred and replied, put a case on my, mistreat me as you may, slander me as you may, summon a privilege motion--it matters nothing to me. old Maas in Parliament I have told the truth... Whatever though protester do I can stand with the farmers. I will not budge even an inch."

He was supported by congress leaders. General Secretary, KC Venugipal, said, We are not worrying with any motions... We will not leave the telling the truth in Parliament. Gandhi also condemned the media of publishing government side of the story saying that it serves no service to the country.

This episode reminds of the lifelong struggle of Gandhi who supported farmers, which is similar to the 2020-2021 protests against farm laws. In February 2026, D-Day was unknown on the issue of the privilege motion, but the defiance of Gandhi has opened up debate on agricultural policy, and free speech debate in Parliament again.