On Rahul Gandhi's "Sold Bharat Mata" Charge, N Sitharaman's Sharm el Sheikh Jab

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a blistering attack on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi today over his "sold Bharat Mata" remark. It was the Congress-led UPA government which "sold the country" and "hyphenated India with Pakistan," she said.

"It is the Congress which sold the government, farmers, the poor and the nation. It was you who hyphenated India with Pakistan... Kiren Rijiju said it rightly -- not a single person has been born till date who can sell India. And Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never do such a thing," she added while responding to the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.

Referring to the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Statement, she accused the UPA government of diluting India's position on sovereignty and security in its engagement with Pakistan. "Those who want to negotiate with Pakistan at Sharm-al-Sheikh are now giving us suggestions on negotiations," Sitharaman said.

The Sharm el-Sheikh agreement of 2009 was made between then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and then Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.

At the meeting, held seven months after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, Dr Singh  had reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. The BJP has repeatedly derided the UPA for the lack of a strong response.   

Those who want to negotiate with Pakistan at Sharm-al-Sheikh are now giving us suggestions on negotiations.

It is the Congress which sold the government, farmers, the poor and the nation. It was you who hyphenated India with Pakistan.

Shri @KirenRijiju said it rightly not a... pic.twitter.com/FTD8yKz37q

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) February 11, 2026

The finance minister also alleged that India had compromised on the peace clause at the WTO meeting in Bali, Indonesia - also held during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

The agreement - signed in 2013 -- had two key pillars, Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Public Stockholding (Food Security). "it was the Congress which not only sold the interest of the poor and farmer of this country but the country itself," she said.

Citing the "unequal" India-US trade deal today, Rahul Gandhi had said the government should be "ashamed".

"You have sold India... For the first time in history our farmers are facing a storm (and) you have opened the door to crush our poor farmers."

Insisting that the deal is "absurd". he said in the beginning, the average tariff was three per cent. "Now it has now gone to 18 per cent - a 6x increase. US imports will go from US$46 billion to US$146 billion... They have no commitment to us... we have a commitment to them," Gandhi said, referring to a provision that says India will buy $500 billion in US energy and tech products. "We are standing like fools. Our tariff has gone up to 18 per cent... and theirs has come down from 16 per cent to zero," he added.