The Congress on Saturday launched a scorching attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has kept a "mystifying silence" over former US President Donald Trump's recent comments on India's oil purchases from Russia. The opposition party accused Modi of being "scared" of Trump and having "outsourced vital decisions to America," stating that the prime minister "becomes a 'mauni baba' suddenly" whenever Trump makes controversial statements about India's foreign affairs.
Jairam Ramesh takes a dig at Modi
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh made a dig at the PM after Trump again claimed that he had been assured by his "good friend" that India would cut its oil imports from Russia. "But that good friend suddenly becomes a Mauni Baba whenever President Trump says he stopped Operation Sindoor and now when he says that India will reduce its imports of oil from Russia" Ramesh tweeted on X.
Trump's repeated statement on India-Russia oil trade
The statement followed hours after Trump repeated his assertions that India is "pulling back" and has "de-escalated" oil purchasing from Moscow. This is the second time the former US President made the assertions, with the opposition questioning the government's silence on the matter.
India affirms its energy policy sovereignty
In turn, the Indian government reaffirmed that its import policies are solely based on "national interest." External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated India is "broad-basing and diversifying" its energy supply to address market realities and protect consumer interests with worldwide volatility. He also said India has been keen on broadening its energy relationship with the United States.
While this, Ramesh pointed to India's ballooning trade deficit with China, which has gone up to USD 54.4 billion from April–September 2025, from USD 49.6 billion during the same period last year.
The Congress, stepping up the attack, asserted that the foreign policy of the Modi government has "completely collapsed." It asked the Centre to bring opposition leaders on board by convening an all-party meet or commencing one-to-one talks on escalating tensions with Washington.
It has recently strained further with the relation between New Delhi and Washington at a time when Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent, including an additional 25 percent duty linked to India's Russian oil purchases-an action India termed "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".
