New Delhi: The Congress party has raised serious questions about the announcement of the India-US trade deal. Senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Abhishek Manu Singhvi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government, saying that India now learns about crucial national decisions from US President Donald Trump or his appointees.
Jairam Ramesh termed it “Trump-dependence,” citing Operation Sindoor last year and the announcement of the India-US trade deal on the same day as examples. Ramesh’s comments came after US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he had spoken to Prime Minister Modi and that India and the US had agreed on a trade deal. Under this deal, tariffs on ‘Made in India’ goods would be reduced to 18 percent. The Congress leader claimed that the information about the conversation between Prime Minister Modi and Trump was first given not by the Indian government, but by the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh recalled that Trump had claimed to have played a role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan during the operation, but the Indian government denied this claim, stating that no third party was involved. Ramesh further taunted the Prime Minister, saying that these incidents show that Trump has leverage over Modi.
He announced the halting of Operation Sindoor from Washington D.C. He announced updates on India’s oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. Now he has announced the India-US trade agreement from Washington, the full details of which are awaited.
President Trump clearly has some leverage over Prime Minister Modi – who is now even embarrassed to be seen with him, let alone hug him. It seems Mr. Modi has finally given in. This certainly cannot be the mother of all deals. Mogambo is clearly happy in Washington. Abhishek Singhvi questions Central Government on trade deal announcement
Congress Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday questioned the central government over US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he had reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Singhvi asked, “When did India outsource its trade announcements?” “Trade deal announced…by Washington! Tariffs reduced from 25 percent to 18 percent. India will buy energy, technology, agriculture, and coal from the US.
A small constitutional question still remains. When did India outsource its trade announcements? Still awaiting an official statement from the government,” the Congress MP wrote. This comes after Trump said on Monday that the US and India had “agreed on a trade deal,” in which Washington had reduced reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 18 percent as a “gesture of friendship and respect” for PM Modi. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to “stop buying Russian oil” and buy much more oil from the US.
