'Remarks inappropriate, don't reflect reality of India-US relationship': MEA reacts to Trump's 'hellhole' reposting row

India's External Ministry on Thursday reacted to a social media repost by US President Donald Trump that referred to India and some other countries as "hellholes" in context of immigration, calling it 'uninformed and 'inappropriate'.

India's response came after a row erupted when US President Donald Trump reposted comments by American radio show host Michael Savage that contained derogatory references to India.

Savage had made the comments in the context of a case in the US Supreme Court challenging birthright citizenship.

The US embassy had earlier put out a message that Trump believes India is a "great" country led by a "good friend of mine".

"We have seen the comments, as also the subsequent statement issued by the US embassy in response," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

"The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests," he said.

The Opposition Congress also has reacted to the row, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains "absolutely mum" on the "ridiculous utterances" of US President Donald Trump after calling India a "hell hole".

In a post on 'X', Kharge said he "sincerely hope" that the Prime Minister "gets some time to react to this intimidation and indignation of 140 crore Indians" in the midst of a high voltage election campaign.