New Delhi [India], August 7 : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday took a dig at the Narendra Modi government amid chaos over the Trump administration doubling the tariff imposition on goods from India to 50 per cent, and said that the country has been cornered from all sides and remains "under threat."
Claiming that India's foreign policy has proved to be "unsuccessful," Yadav argued that the government has not been able to double the farmers' income as promised earlier.
"We have been absolutely unsuccessful in our foreign policy. We haven't been able to double the income of our farmers as promised. The youth are unemployed. Our country, our economy, our farmers, and our youth are under threat. India has been cornered from all four sides," the former Uttar Pradesh CM told reporters here.
Reacting to PM Modi's "farmers top priority" remarks, Yadav said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should have thought about it a decade ago and said that focusing on the need to prioritise every sector.
"BJP should have thought about it 10 years ago that we need always to be worried about the interests of our farmers, agriculture, and dairy products, and we should focus on each and every sector on a priority basis. When industries end, farmers get ruined, and there's no employment for youth. Where is our country heading?" he said.
"The people who claimed that India has good relations with every country in the world, and there is hardly any country where India and Indians are not respected, these statements from the government now are unfortunate," Yadav added.
His reaction comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that farmers remain India's top priority and that the country would never compromise their interests.
"For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. I know we will have to pay a heavy price for it, and I am ready for it. India is ready for it," PM Modi said while addressing a gathering at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference.
Reacting to US President Donald Trump imposing additional 25 per cent tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases, the SP chief emphasised the need to maintain bilateral relations with the US and work towards strengthening them.
"You will have to maintain relations with America. We have had a historic relationship with America, and we need to work towards further strengthening these relations. After 11 years of this government, why is the government saying all this?" Yadav asked.
This comes after US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on August 6 imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India. Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.
Terming the United States' move to impose additional tariffs on India over its oil imports from Russia as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests.
In further development, a senior United States Administration Official told ANI that there is simply "no comparison" between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil and the modest US imports of Russian goods.
In response to a question, the US official told ANI, "There is simply no comparison between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil, and the modest U.S. imports of Russian goods, which amount to less than 1% of the value of Indian imports".