Rajya Sabha adopts Motion to Thank President, Opposition raises questions on U.S. trade deal

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday (February 5, 2026) adopted a Motion to thank President Droupadi Murmu for her address to the Joint Session of Parliament. The amendments moved by Opposition MPs were defeated in a voice vote in their absence. The Opposition had walked out of the House during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate.

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Earlier in the day, BJP members addressed concerns expressed by Opposition members over the India-U.S. bilateral trade deal and said the deal was in the interest of the country. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said even External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was unaware of the details of the trade deal. Quoting U.S. President Donald Trump, she said agriculture and dairy products are part of the deal and sought clarification from the Government. 

BJP MP Maya Naroliya said under the Narendra Modi government, the allocation to the agriculture sector increased, helping the farmers to modernise the systems of farming. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi alone, she said ₹4 lakh crore was distributed to farmers. “Farmers are a priority for the government,” she said, adding that India has become the world’s largest rice producer. 

Another BJP MP Mahendra Bhatt, said the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme instilled confidence among farmers to further their occupation. “This is a truth that farmers have an important role in India. If farmers remained poor and if their interests were not protected, India could have also faced a famine-like situation that some other countries suffered,” he said. 

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sandeep Kumar Pathak said nobody is against a special intensive revision of the voters list but should be a gradual process that takes several years for effective implementation. “You are rushing an activity which should take two years in three months. Who on Earth can achieve this? I am very sure it is not achievable,” he said.