FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | BHUBANESWAR | MUMBAI | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Wednesday, 04 February, 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS ‘Sensitive sectors protected in India–US trade deal’ Page 10 Iran, US slated to hold talks for easing tensions NATION Amit Shah, Jaishankar, Rajnath and Vaishnaw hail India-US trade deal Déjà Vu in Group A as India, Pakistan & USA reunite at T20 World Cup 2026 Page 5 Page 12 Page 9 Global order changing, India leading the way, says PM Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 February P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told NDA MPs that India has emerged as a central force on the global stage and is playing a key role in shaping the world order. He was referring to recent trade agreements with several countries, including the newly announced India–US and India–EU deals. “The developed countries want to work in partnership with India,” PM Modi said, addressing the NDA parliamentary party meeting. PM Modi was felicitated by NDA leaders for the successful conclusion of trade agreements with 39 countries. According to those present at the meeting, the Prime Minister said these deals demonstrate India’s ability to showcase its strength despite global uncertainty. “PM Modi called it a milestone that had created a better environment for bilateral relations. He acknowledged the challenges during negotiations, saying that critics had doubts, people were criticising but patience paid… the world order is changing,” they said, referring to PM’s speech Quoting the PM, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said there was enthusiasm among MPs over the trade agreements concluded under PM Modi’s leadership. “The trade deals have been signed with a total of 39 countries. This is historic. All these 39 countries are developed countries...This is historic. There has been a very good atmosphere in the country,” he said. LJP leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan praised the PM, saying that “India has the capability to emerge as a Haven’t heard anything from Delhi, says Putin’s top aide on halting purchase of Russian oil: global manufacturing hub. How MPs can promote different verticals in the export sector and how this opportunity can be availed were all discussed (in the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting). The Prime Minister also warned NDA leaders against complacency after recent electoral successes. According to Rijiju, the PM said that these NDA’s victories in various elections were the result of people-friendly policies and sustained hard work. The Prime Minister urged NDA MPs not to rest on their laurels following wins in polls, including local body elections, saying that the coalition has been winning various elections due to its people-friendly policies, he said. India-US deal sparks massive political storm, Gandhi hits out at PM Modi VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 3 February Even as government sources asserted “zero compromise” on farmers’ interests in the India-US trade deal, claiming that “India’s agriculture and dairy sector will be protected,” opposition leaders mounted a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of “selling the country under US’ pressure” and “backstabbing farmers by p o tentially op ening markets to subsidised US agricultural imports.” Government sources said, “The India-US trade deal agreed upon between US President Donald Trump and PM Modi does not compromise the interests of Indian farmers,” also clarifying that India would continue to buy crude oil from countries that are “not under sanctions.” India is currently the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, which is under US sanctions. Union Minister J P Nadda announced in the Rajya Sabha that the government would issue a suo motu statement on the trade deal and hold a discussion in Parliament after several opposition MPs staged a walkout, demanding a discussion on the deal. The Lok Sabha also saw repeated disruptions over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on referring to an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General M M Naravane during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address for the second day in a row. Eight Congress MPs were suspended in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by the Chair for “unruly” behaviour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had moved a resolution in the Lok Sabha to suspend Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole, S Venkatesan and Dean Kuriakose for the remainder of the session. They were reportedly seen tearing up papers and throwing them towards the Chair. Speaking to the media after chaotic scenes for the second consecutive day, Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of being “compromised” and “selling” India. “Modi ji is rattled. The (US-India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Mo di ji’s image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised,” Gandhi said. Indo-US trade deal: New Delhi’s patience, restraint has paid off ASHOK TUTEJA New Delhi, 3 February How will one describe the India-US trade deal, an outcome of patience and restraint exercised by New Delhi, now that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) has already been termed as the ''mother of all deals''? Though its details are still not available, the Indo-US deal has been reached after a year of negotiations during which hard bargaining was done by both sides. ‘’Quite often we were close to the deal but at times it did appear that we are far away from concluding it…of course, there is always give and take in any deal of this nature,’’ an official said, without disclosing anything further. Until a few weeks back, there were no indications that India and the US were about to close the deal despite a recent positive statement on the pact by US President Donald Trump, given his unpredictable character. But what worked in India’s favour was concluding the FTA with the 27-nation EU last week. Also, the arrival in New Delhi last month of President Trump’s close aide Sergio Gor as Ambassador to India helped the two countries quietly fast track the negotiations. It goes to the credit of the political leadership and the bureaucracy in India that it never lost patience and was quite guarded in its reaction to any offensive statement coming from President Trump or other top functionaries in Washington. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is learnt, had told his top ministers and bureaucrats to be careful with their words and not to react to every statement emanating from Washington, even as his own personal relationship with President Trump was going through a troubled phase. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal were quite guarded in their response to the hurdles in the way of concluding the trade pact with Washington, even as they conducted quiet diplomacy with their American interlocutors. President Trump continued to show aggression and hostility towards India, first increasing the tariff on Indian products and then slapping a 25 per cent punitive tariff on this country on the charge that India was funding the ‘’Russian war machine’’ in the war in Ukraine. Though his repeated claim that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May last year was strongly refuted by New Delhi. However, it refused to join the debate with President Trump on this issue. Even as the talks with the US dragged on amid global uncertainties over President Trump’s tariff regime, New Delhi accelerated trade engagements with other key allies, including the EU. It signed as many as five trade agreements to deepen economic partnerships, which strengthened its position on the negotiating table with the US. In recent days, Indian officials clearly stated that New Delhi was in no hurry to conclude the deal with the US and that there was no question of sacrificing national interests, especially on agricultural products. In his social media post on ''Truth Social'' last night after talking to PM Modi, President Trump said the US will reduce tariffs on Indian imports from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Though he did not talk about the 25 per cent punitive tariff that he had imposed on India, the US envoy later clarified that this duty is also being rescinded. President Trump’s claims that India will reduce its tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero and ‘’Buy American’’ at a much higher level are yet to be confirmed by New Delhi. With the trade deal done and dusted, India, in all probability, will join President Trump's “Board of Peace” that will work towards bringing lasting peace to Gaza. Other key Indo-US engagements, including the Quad Summit to be hosted by India, are also likely to be back on track. Moscow: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said that Moscow has not yet received any messages from New Delhi about refusing Russian oil supplies. "We haven't heard any statements from Delhi on this matter yet," Russia's state-run news agency Tass quoted the Presidential Spokesman as saying during a regular media briefing in Moscow while responding to a question about whether India had refused Russian oil. The diplomat, however, stated that the Kremlin is closely monitoring US President Donald Trump's statements, including on India and oil. "We are, of course, closely monitoring all news on this matter," Peskov noted. "We are paying close attention to President Trump's statements; we are carefully recording and analysing them." "We respect bilateral American-Indian relations," Peskov added. "We attach no less importance to developing our advanced strategic partnership with India. This is of the utmost importance to us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations in every possible way, which is precisely what we are doing," Peskov, a seasoned diplomat who serves as the Press Secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by Tass. Yumnam Khemchand Singh to be next Manipur CM: New Delhi: Manipur Assembly's former Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh will be the state's next Chief Minister, it was announced on Tuesday. He was elected as the new leader of the BJP Legislature party in the north eastern state. The meeting virtually clears the deck for the veteran politician to take over as the chief minister of the troubled state, which has been under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025. Khemchand may be sworn in as Chief Minister on Feb 4 or 5, along with some other ministers at Lok Bhawan.