DMK MP Tiruchi Siva moves privilege notice against Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva on Monday (February 9, 2026) informed the Rajya Sabha that he had submitted a breach of privilege notice against Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal for sharing details of an interim trade deal between India and the U.S. in a media interview while the Parliament was in session.

Raising the issue soon after the House met at 11 a.m. and papers were tabled, Mr. Siva said, “I have given a notice of breach of privilege against Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. He has given an interview regarding the policy decision of the government outside the House when the Parliament was in session. It amounts to a breach of privilege of this House,” Mr. Siva said, and was supported by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan said he would look into it. “He has already made a statement in the House. We will look into it,” he said.

A brief uproar came from the Opposition benches as the Chairman proceeded with the Zero Hour. Mr. Radhakrishnan did not allow Opposition leaders to supplement Mr. Siva’s submission.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Indo-U.S. trade deal on social media on February 2. On February 3, Mr. Goyal was slated to address Parliament, but he could not as the Lok Sabha failed to function amid Opposition protests. He instead addressed a press conference detailing the deal, which Mr. Siva cited in his notice. 

Mr. Goyal has maintained that adequate safeguards have been built into the trade agreement to protect the interests of farmers and the domestic industry from any significant increase in imports. He said that the deal would “ultimately help our farmers”, noting that they are already exporting $50-55 billion worth of agricultural and fish products annually.