The Editorial Page: The Budget has delivered a googly — the retrospective tax 8 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A REPLY TO DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION OF THANKS ON PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Can’t see me serving, so say ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’: PM slams Cong Speaker:Asked PM nottocome, learntCongress MPswould createincident ‘World markets waiting for India, trade deals have opened them up’ Vikas Pathak & Manoj CG New Delhi, February 5 PICKING ON the slogan ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ (Modi, your gravewillbedug)usedbysome opposed to his government’s actions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in one of his sharpest attacks on the Congress, said Thursday that those who thought the post of the Prime Minister was reserved for their family were bitter that he had not only made it to the office but continued to remain there and were, therefore, running down all his efforts to serve the country. Replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in Rajya Sabha — he could not speak in Lok Sabha Wednesday evening because the House was adjourned amid a Congress protest — Modi mentioned the slogan 21 times, linking it to the Congress opposition and questioning of his government’sactions,fromthe abrogationofArticle370inJ&K to ending insurgency in the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 happening today lA ‘TOTAL SHUTDOWN’ has been called from 6 am to 6 pm in Kuki Zo-dominated areas of Manipur, days after government formation. lRbI GOVERNOR Sanjay Malhotra will announce the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rate. The MPC is likely to maintain status quo. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm Absolute lie, PM hiding behind Speaker: Priyanka PM Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha Thursday. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J P Nadda, Kiren Rijiju were among those present. ANI E. We respect (Gen Naravane), Rahul using his name to mock Govt: FM ExPlAINED Divide deepens ahead of key polls The showdown inside and outside Parliament has deepened the divide, putting a question mark on the functioning of the House. It also sets the stage for bitter campaigns in the states where Assembly elections will be held this year. ThE EDITOrIAl PAGE Pm FrAmES tHE DEAL, cOrNErS cONg P 8 Says Cong sending women MPs towards Treasury to act as ‘shield or deterrent’ Liz Mathew & P Vaidyanathan Iyer New Delhi, February 5 FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday that the government did not have any issues with former Army chief General MM Naravane, whose unpublished book Four Stars of Destiny was held aloft by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to target the government over a military face-off with China in August 2020. In an interview to The IndianExpress, Sitharaman said, “When I had a short stint as Defence Minister, I knew General »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ExPrEss interview NIRMALA SITHARAMAN UNION FINANCE MINISTER PAgE 13 Jatin Anand & Asad Rehman New Delhi, February 5 AS THE Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address without the Prime Minister’s reply to the discussion on the address, Speaker Om Birla said Thursday he had “credible informationthatseveralmembersfrom theCongress”wouldcreate“an unprecedented incident after reaching the Honourable PrimeMinister’sseat”,andthat it was he who had “requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House” where he was scheduledtospeakWednesday. The Congress rejected the charge that its members wanted to cause any harm to the Prime Minister. On Wednesday evening, the Lok Sabha »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India-US joint statement in days, tariff cuts in a week, says Goyal Dheeraj Mishra & Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, February 5 STATING THAT India and the US will formally sign the first tranche of their new trade agreement by mid-March, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday that a joint statement on the deal will be released in the next four-five days after which US First tranche of new trade pact to be signed by mid-March: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. ANI tariffs will come down to 18 per cent through a White House executive order. “Thefirsttrancheofthebilateraltradeagreement(BTA)isalmost ready, and we expect that inthenextfour-fivedays,wewill finalise and sign a joint statementbetweentheUSandIndia. And based on that, the first phase of this partnership will begin...there is no investment »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 business as Usual By EP UNNY INDIA-U.S. TRADE DEAL India has ‘significant potential’ to import more agri products: US Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, February 5 NATION mEgHALAYA cOAL mINE bLASt: 18 KILLED, mANY FEArED trAPPED PAgE 10 l DAYS AFTER US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Leslie RollinssaidtheIndia-UStradedeal would expand access for American farm products, the US Department of Agriculture told The Indian Express that India has “significant potential” to step up agricultural importsfromtheircountry,which ‘Deal will export more American farm products to India’s massive market,’ US Agri Secy Brooke Rollins had said. AP FILE were earlier hampered by “high” and “unjust” tariffs. Responding to a questionnaire from this newspaper, addressed to Rollins, on the agricultural components of the trade deal, a USDA spokesperson stated: “India has significant potential to expand imports of US agricultural products. High tariffs, unjustified non-tariff measures and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LAND ADJOINING STADIUM IN MOTERA IS PROPOSED TO HAVE SPORTS ENCLAVE, OLYMPIC VILLAGE Gujarat govt gets HC approval to reclaim Asaram ashram land in Ahmedabad Aditi Raja Vadodara, February 5 PAVING THE way for the Gujarat state government to build a proposed state-of-the-art sports complex, the Gujarat HighCourtThursdaypassedan order permitting the state to take back the 45,000 sq metre government land where the Sant Shri Asharamji Ashram stands near the Motera Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. The High Court dismissed a petition filed by the Ashram seekingreliefinthematterafter considering submissions of government pleaders G H Virk The Sant Shri Asharamji Ashram in Ahmedabad. and S H Virk that a survey found that the land, which was allotted to the Ashram decades agofor“religioususe”,wasused for unauthorised construction inviolationoftheconditionsattached to the allotment. The government pleaders also contested the claim of the Ashram petition that the action initiated by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was sudden. Government Pleader G H Virk, in his submissions, told thecourtthatthenoticesissued by the AMC were a result of “a fair and patient” process. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad High capex to sustain growth, pvt investment also coming: Sitharaman Aanchal Magazine, Sandeep Singh & Anil Sasi New Delhi, February 5 FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday the government’s primary objective is to sustain growth, and even though the private sector is “moving out of the passive mode to invest”, her ministry has continued with the heavy liftingincapitalspendinginthe Budget for 2026-27. In an interview to The IndianExpress, Sitharaman said, “At the moment we are looking atsustaininggrowthandtherefore, we will have to do it, so we aredoingit.Thatwillbeourpri- mary object — sustaining growth.” The government has allocated Rs 12.22 lakh crore towards capex for next year, whichismorethan11.5percent compared with 2025-26. The Finance Minister, however, said that there is a clear sign that one is able to see the private sector coming out to invest. “Investments earning passiveincomearenowmoving toinvestmentsinexpandingcapacities or setting up new businesses. This may be happening more in partnerships with peopleinthenewer,frontiersectors, and probably less — this is a bit too early — in the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2