Rahul Gandhi slams Government ahead of India AI Impact Summit 2026, warns of ‘US Chokehold’ on India’s Data

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has posted a sharp critique of the Centre’s AI and trade strategy just days before the government’s upcoming AI Summit, warning that India risks losing control of its “prime resource”: data.

In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi said, “The AI revolution is here – bringing both threats and opportunities,” but accused the government of failing to safeguard India’s digital future.

Framing the moment as both perilous and pivotal, Gandhi wrote that India’s IT and services sector, which is “a shining star of our economy,” is “at risk”.

Further adding that “thousands of software engineers and professionals will lose their livelihoods if we do not prepare for the storm that is coming”.

However, he also highlighted what he sees as a strategic advantage. “Data is the petrol which fuels the AI engine,” Gandhi said, arguing that India’s “brilliant people” and the “enormous data we create” position the country to shape the global AI order.

The Congress MP criticised the government’s handling of a reported trade deal with the United States, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “surrendered to the US ‘chokehold’”.

According to Gandhi, provisions framed as “clearing barriers to digital trade” could limit India’s ability to leverage its data domestically.

He claimed that large foreign technology firms already “enjoy a near monopoly on our data through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Amazon, Android, etc.” and warned that under the deal India may struggle to “safely store the data of 1.5 billion Indians in India”, “get transparency in their source codes and algorithms”, and “tax the profits they make using our data”.

“It’s a shame that our Prime Minister has been pressured to hand over India’s prime resource to a foreign power,” Gandhi concluded.

The government has yet to respond publicly to these specific remarks.

The forthcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026 is expected to focus on innovation, regulation and India’s ambitions in the global artificial intelligence ecosystem, inviting some of the biggest names in the world of technology as speakers and panelists.