All 'taarif' between Trump and 'Howdy Modi' meant little: Congress takes swipe at PM over 25% tariff by US

New Delhi: Opposition on Wednesday attacked Narendra Modi for the US imposing 25% tariff and a penalty for buying military equipment and crude oil from Russia, claiming that the Prime Minister's friendship with President Donald Trump “meant little” and that the government should stand up to the pressure.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said Modi thought that if he “kept quiet on the insults” that Trump had hurled on India, India would get special treatment at the hands of the US President. “Clearly that has not happened,” he said.

Ramesh said Trump made “30 claims” of stopping Op Sindoor besides hosting a special lunch for Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir and support for financial packages to Pakistan from the IMF and the World Bank.

“All that taarif (praise) between Trump and Modi has meant little” and now the Prime Minister should take inspiration from Indira Gandhi and stand up to the US President, he said.

AAP Rajya Sabha floor leader Sanjay Singh said Trump was “insulting” India every day, as he referred to threatening Apple against manufacturing iPhones in India. “He has even gone on to say that he loves Pakistan…Modi should strongly oppose this move and make his next step clear,”he said.

CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby said the government should stand up and resist to protect India's agricultural and pharma sectors among others.

CPI General Secretary D Raja called it a "blatant assertion of arm-twisting India’s foreign policy” but said the BJP remains a “silent spectator”.

“What is the Modi government’s response? Not a word. No protest. No rebuttal. Not even the courage to condemn Trump in Parliament, neither by the PM nor a single Cabinet Minister. The PM is not being truthful, neither to the people nor to Parliament,” he said.

“The PM must speak up, it is time India regains its political autonomy, economic sovereignty, and moral authority by standing tall and pursuing an independent foreign policy,” he said adding, Trump is targeting the Global South while Modi has surrendered national interest.

CPI(ML)L General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said Trump is punishing India for not just what he calls India's high tariffs and 'obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers', but also for buying military equipment and energy from Russia.

“In other words, for not becoming exclusively dependent on the US. Can there be a more brazen attack on India's sovereignty? The more the Modi government surrenders and keeps quiet, the more the Trump Administration blackmails and pressurises India. The government's subservience to the imperialist hegemony of US imperialism is becoming a huge liability for the Indian people,” he added.