As Trump imposes harsh trade tariffs on India, CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar and Congress’s Jairam Ramesh accuse the Modi government of failing to defend India’s dignity and global standing
US President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India on Wednesday. File pic
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar on Thursday strongly criticised the Centre over its muted response to the US government’s decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. Kumar expressed concern over what he described as a pattern of disrespect towards India under former US President Donald Trump’s leadership, reported ANI.
Kumar said the timing of the announcement was particularly shocking, considering that Indo-US trade negotiations were still ongoing. He questioned why the decision was made unilaterally and highlighted a growing pattern of diplomatic disrespect from the US since Trump assumed office.
"This new decision from the Trump government is actually shocking. The Indo-US trade talks are going on. All of a sudden, this was announced by the Trump administration. If you analyse properly, after Trump became the President of the US, India is getting insulted day by day. No President of the US has insulted our country like this," Kumar told ANI.
The CPI leader further condemned the central government’s subdued reaction to the move, calling it passive and inadequate in defending India's interests. He said that the lack of a strong response showed a concerning attitude from the ruling leadership.
"What is more concerning is that the government's response is very cool...Against Trump, they are not uttering even a single word. This is the problem," he added, reported ANI.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that recent developments reflected the failure of Modi's personalised foreign diplomacy. He highlighted how both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have learned how to manipulate the Indian PM through flattery.
Ramesh drew attention to what he termed the "CAP" challenge, referring to China, America, and Pakistan, and linked it to PM Modi’s earlier remarks about the "TOP" challenge, which focused on the prices of Tomato, Onion, and Potato, reported ANI.
"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," Ramesh, Congress (General Secretary) in charge of Communications, posted on X.
Trump, meanwhile, maintained that trade discussions with India were still underway. Responding to ANI’s question about future negotiations, Trump reiterated that India has historically been among the highest tariff-imposing countries.
In a statement made during a press briefing at the White House, the former US president doubled down on his decision to impose trade penalties, citing India’s import tariffs and recent purchases of Russian oil as key factors.
Trump stated, "We're talking to them now. We'll see what happens. Again, India was the highest or just about the highest tariff nation in the world, one of the highest, 100 points, 150 points or percentages. So India was one of the highest in the world. They had 175 per cent and higher than that," reported ANI.
The comments were made during a press conference held to mark the signing of a Congressional bill, reflecting Trump's broader approach to international trade, which has often drawn criticism for being protectionist and unpredictable.
(With inputs from ANI)
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