PM Modi 'Frightened' Of Trump, Outsourced Key Decisions To US: Congress

New Delhi: Amid mounting chaos over Donald Trump's "India would stop purchasing oil from Russia" claims, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "frightened" of US President Donald Trump, saying that he allowed the American leader to "decide and announce" that India will not buy Russian oil and "keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs".

"PM Modi is frightened of Trump. Allows Trump to decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil. Keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs. Cancelled the Finance Minister's visit to America. Skipped Sharm el-Sheikh. Doesn't contradict him on Operation Sindoor," Gandhi said on X.

Taking a dig at the centre, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that decisions made by the Indian government are announced by the US president. "The decisions made by the Government of India are announced by President Trump in Washington DC. Yahan se tareef, wahan se tariffs," the Congress MP told ANI.

He further asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reveal before Parliament the details regarding the US trade deal and why it has not been concluded yet. "The PM should tell what the truth is behind buying oil from Russia? Why has the US trade deal not been concluded yet? He should take the Parliament into confidence, form a consensus and tell. Our foreign policy has completely failed," Ramesh said.

"PM tweets praises for Trump, but tariffs are imposed by the US. Why doesn't the government of India announce the decisions taken by it?" he added.

The Rajya Sabha MP further questioned PM Modi's silence on multiple claims made by Trump, including the stopping of the India-Pakistan war by issuing "trade threats" and his claims that India won't buy oil from Russia. "President Trump has claimed 51 times that he was responsible for stopping India-Pakistan tension by issuing a trade threat. Yesterday, Trump said that he told PM Modi that India should not buy oil from Russia, and India assured him that it would not buy oil from Russia. And the Prime Minister is silent on this! The PM should announce if such a decision has been taken," Ramesh said.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the US was not happy that India was buying Russian crude, arguing such purchases helped finance President Vladimir Putin's war.

"He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship... we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they've lost a million and a half people," Trump said in response to a question.

"I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big step. Now we've got to get China to do the same thing," he said.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India, the world's third-largest oil importer, significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion.

Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts. As a result, India's Russian crude imports surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.

New Delhi has been maintaining that its oil imports are driven by national energy security and affordability concerns and that its position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains independent and balanced.

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