New Delhi [India], July 31 : Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on US imports from India, saying, "He invested very heavily in his personal friendship with President Trump"
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1950753615733538999
He also referred to the claims of Donald Trump on stopping the war between India and Pakistan, a claim denied by India.
In a post on X, the Congress MP said, "President Trump is piling it on India. Since May 10th, he has claimed 30 times that he stopped Op Sindoor. These claims were made in four different countries. On June 18th, he hosted the Pakistan Army Chief and the orchestrator of the Pahalgam terror attacks for lunch at the White House. On July 30th, he imposed a 25% tariff on US imports from India plus a penalty on India's oil and defence purchases from Russia"
"In addition, sanctions on at least six Indian companies were imposed for engaging with Iran. On July 30th, he also announced that the US will help Pakistan explore and develop its oil (and gas) reserves. This comes on top of his full-throated support to Pakistan receiving financial assistance from the World Bank and the IMF," he said.
"Prime Minister Modi once spoke of the TOP (Tomato, Onion, Potato) challenge in prices. Now India has to contend with the political challenge arising out of CAP (China, America, Pakistan). He invested very heavily in his personal friendship with President Trump, as he had done earlier with President Xi. Both have the full measure of the man now--someone who can be managed easily by playing to his gigantic ego and self-obsession," he said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that India would face a 25 per cent tariff, along with an additional penalty, citing trade imbalances and India's continued defence and energy ties with Russia.
"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE - ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST 1st. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!", the US President said.