Overview
- BJP MP Nishikant Dubey submitted a substantive motion demanding cancellation of Rahul Gandhi’s membership and a lifetime bar on contesting elections.
- Lok Sabha officials expunged portions of Gandhi’s Budget debate remarks after the government called his allegations on the India–US interim trade deal false.
- Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju labeled the speech “full of lies” and flagged Gandhi’s reference to minister Hardeep Singh Puri in the “Epstein files” as a potential breach of privilege.
- Gandhi offered to authenticate his assertions on the floor, but the presiding chair Jagdambika Pal said the request had not been sought by the Chair at that time.
- Congress leaders denounced the move as partisan and claimed double standards, while Gandhi reiterated he would not back down and framed his stance around support for farmers.