New Delhi, Feb 3 (.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated by NDA MPs on Tuesday during the Parliamentary Party meeting for the recently announced trade agreement between India and the United States.

The deal, confirmed by US President Donald Trump, reduces reciprocal US tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, described by Trump as a gesture “out of friendship and respect” for PM Modi.

The BJP workers greeted the Prime Minister with chants of “Jai Modi,” “Vande Mataram,” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” in appreciation of the trade agreement.

This comes after Trump said that the US and India “have agreed to a trade deal,” with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, “out of friendship and respect” for PM Modi.

Trump announced on the social media platform Truth Social that the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India’s oil buying supported Russia’s war efforts.

BJP National President Nitin Nabin was welcomed at the meeting, which was attended by senior leaders, including union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Later in the day, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address during the ongoing Budget Session.

In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the Lok Sabha witnessed massive disruption following a statement by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, forcing the House to be adjourned.

During his speech, Gandhi attempted to refer to the contents of an unpublished book written by a former Army Chief. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh strongly objected to references to the book, stating that it was against parliamentary rules to cite a magazine or an unpublished book in the House. He alleged that the Leader of the Opposition was attempting to mislead the House by referring to an unpublished work.

This led to a heated exchange between members of the ruling party and the opposition. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened and, citing the rules of the House, ruled that no member could present arguments based on newspaper clippings, magazines, or content published in books.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju supported the Defence Minister’s objection, stating that the Leader of the Opposition had no right to raise an issue in the House based on a magazine.

. . VAN