‘Forced hugs have done very little good’: Jairam Ramesh slams Centre over Trump tariff threat
New Delhi: The Congress on Monday took a swipe at the Centre after US President Donald Trump warned that Washington could raise tariffs on India “very quickly”, saying that “Namaste Trump, Howdy Modi events, forced hugs” and social media posts praising the American leader have yielded little benefit.
The opposition’s reaction came after Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of his displeasure over India’s purchase of Russian oil and that the US could swiftly impose higher tariffs on Indian imports.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The PM's good friend in the White House continues his ‘blow hot, blow cold' approach to India. He has yet again threatened higher tariffs on US imports from India if India did not stop buying oil from Russia.”
“All those Namaste Trump, Howdy Modi events, all those (forced) hugs, and all those social media posts hailing the US President have done very little good,” Ramesh said.
Trump, speaking to reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One while travelling from Florida to Washington DC, said, “They (India) wanted to make me happy, basically. Modi is a very good man; he is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly. It would be very bad for them.”
His remarks came after US Senator Lindsey Graham, who was accompanying him, said the tariffs imposed by Trump were the “chief reason” India is now purchasing substantially less Russian oil.
Graham referred to his tariff bill proposing a 500 per cent levy on imports from countries buying Russian oil, saying pressure must be exerted on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s customers to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump added that sanctions were hurting Russia “very badly” and mentioned India, after which Graham said the US had imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil.