New Delhi, June 18: The Congress on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his meeting with US President Donald Trump, alleging that he was “unable to defend” India’s energy sovereignty, stayed silent on the American leader’s claims on halting Operation Sindoor and did not raise the killing of three Indian seafarers recently.
The Congress’ Foreign Affairs Department, headed by former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, said the party had hoped that Modi would leverage the G7 Summit in France as an opportunity to assert India’s leadership role in the Global South and stridently defend India’s energy sovereignty, economic interests, and strategic autonomy but instead, the Summit exposed a troubling gap between rhetoric and results.
“In his meetings with President Trump, and belying claims of a ‘close friendship’ with the President, PM Modi was unable either to defend India’s energy sovereignty by drawing a firm line with the President or to secure an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions waiver that would have allowed continued imports of Russian oil,” the Congress said.
“This is a missed opportunity, and further compounds the BJP government’s repeated capitulation on matters of India’s energy sovereignty (first ‘by ending purchases of discounted oil from Iran and Venezuela, and then by scaling back imports from Russia). As a result, Indians will continue to face the brunt of higher fuel and consumer prices,” it said.
Additionally, Modi “inexplicably stayed silent” despite Trump indirectly claiming that he engineered a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor, the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Department said.
Furthermore, Trump’s public offer of “support” to Modi carries profound implications since it could either mean an offer to intervene in India’s domestic political affairs or a security commitment in the event of external aggression, it said.
“The former would amount to an unacceptable endorsement of interference in India’s internal affairs (a matter on which the Bharatiya Janata Party owes the nation an explanation, given its repeated allegations of foreign interference in India). The latter interpretation would imply the existence of a security arrangement that has not been disclosed to Parliament, would risk complicating India’s relations with key partners, and further erode India’s strategic autonomy,” a statement of the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Department said.
Modi also did not raise the unlawful sinking of the IRIS Dena in India’s stratgic backyard, and the recent tragic killing of Indian sailors, it said.
“Both incidents were direct affronts to India’s maritime interests, regional standing, and the principles of freedom of navigation and secure trade. Nor did PM Modi seek an explanation for the Trump administration’s reported decision to rename INDOPACOM and the White House s2025 National Security Doctrine, which both signal a downgrading of India’s strategic importance,” it said.
“Equally troubling, PM Modi failed to raise the issue of the US government’s use of a distorted map of India that depicts Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as Pakistani territory, which is an affront to India’s territorial integrity,” the statement said.
It is also a matter of deep concern that PM Modi did nothing to redress India’s increasing geopolitical isolation or counter Pakistan’s “out-manoeuvring” of India in the evolving US-Iran ceasefire, it said.
“This failure has allowed Pakistan room to rehabilitate its international standing, dilute scrutiny of its longstanding support for terrorism, and reposition itself as a credible interlocutor on the world stage,” the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Department said.
“As the US President’s public proclamations of ‘friendship’ with PM Modi have been complemented with continuous anti-India actions and rhetoric, PM Modi must not prioritise his ‘friendship’ with the US President over Indian interests,” it said.
Modi on Wednesday raised the issue of seafarers’ safety with Trump, urging that their protection be given the highest priority during the implementation of Washington’s peace deal with Iran, even as the two leaders focused on taking steps to repair bilateral ties that witnessed severe strain over the past year.
The meeting between the two leaders on the margins of the G7 summit in the French commune came amid increasing outrage in India over the killing of three Indian crew members of a merchant ship in American military strikes in the Gulf of Oman. (PTI)
