At a Congress rally in Punjab, Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of being under US President Donald Trump’s influence and linked the India-US trade deal to the resolution of US legal cases involving Gautam Adani.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, November 4, 2026: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a face-to-face debate on NDTV, saying he could prove within five minutes that the Prime Minister was a “deshdrohi” (traitor).
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote in Hindi: “चलिए, अडानी जी के NDTV पर ही बहस कर लेते हैं, मोदी जी। मंच आपका, जज भी आपका – अडानी जी हों या मोहन भागवत जी। मैं गारंटी देता हूँ – सिर्फ़ 5 मिनट में साबित कर दूँगा कि नरेंद्र मोदी देशद्रोही हैं।”
(“Come, let’s debate on Adani ji’s NDTV itself, Modi ji. The stage is yours, and you can choose the judge — whether it is Adani ji or Mohan Bhagwat ji. I guarantee I will prove in just five minutes that Narendra Modi is a traitor.”)
The challenge is the latest in a series of attacks Rahul Gandhi has launched against Modi since November 2. He has accused the Prime Minister of coming to power and staying in office with “foreign help”. He has also alleged that India’s financial system is controlled by foreign interests and that the recent India-US trade deal was rushed through under pressure from US President Donald Trump, without full Cabinet consultation.
चलिए, अडानी जी के NDTV पर ही बहस कर लेते हैं, मोदी जी।
मंच आपका, जज भी आपका – अडानी जी हों या मोहन भागवत जी।
मैं गारंटी देता हूँ – सिर्फ़ 5 मिनट में साबित कर दूँगा कि नरेंद्र मोदी देशद्रोही हैं। https://t.co/sSJ1nZquWh
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 4, 2026
Speaking at a Congress “Insaaf Rally” in Sangrur, Punjab, on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi said he was ready to debate Modi anywhere, including on television. He said the Prime Minister could choose anyone as the judge, including RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or industrialist Gautam Adani.
Gandhi also claimed that he could establish within five minutes that Modi was a “deshdrohi” and that “Donald Trump controls him”. He linked the resolution of US legal cases involving Adani to the India-US trade deal, alleging that the arrangement had compromised the interests of Indian farmers, small businesses and India’s data sovereignty.
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Background on the Adani Cases
US authorities took steps to resolve several cases involving Gautam Adani and Adani Group entities earlier in 2026. In May, the US Department of Justice moved to dismiss criminal fraud charges against Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani. A federal judge later ordered the dismissal with prejudice.
Adani Enterprises also reached a $275 million settlement with the US Treasury over alleged Iran sanctions violations linked to LPG imports. A related civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission was settled for about $18 million, without an admission of wrongdoing.
Gandhi has cited these developments since May 2026 as evidence, in his view, of Modi acting under foreign pressure. The government and BJP leaders have rejected the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
Government Response
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to Rahul Gandhi’s earlier challenges by saying Parliament was the appropriate forum for such discussions. She accused Congress and INDIA bloc members of frequently walking out of debates and treating parliamentary proceedings lightly while holding mock sessions elsewhere.
Other BJP leaders have also maintained that the government is ready to discuss issues in Parliament.
NDTV was acquired by the Adani Group in 2022–23. Rahul Gandhi’s choice of the channel for the proposed debate adds a pointed political dimension to his challenge, given the opposition’s criticism of media ownership and independence.
The exchange is part of a broader confrontation between Gandhi and the Modi government over foreign policy, industrial policy and allegations of external influence. No formal response from the Prime Minister or acceptance of the debate challenge had been reported as of Wednesday evening.
