Rahul Gandhi targets Centre over Trump’s Modi remarks, recalls Indira Gandhi’s 1971 stand

In the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on his ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tariffs on India, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at the government, invoking former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s handling of pressure from the United States during the 1971 war.

Trump on Tuesday said that Modi was “not that happy with me” over the tariffs imposed by Washington on India for its purchases of Russian oil. Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, the US President also claimed that Modi had sought a meeting with him, saying, “Prime Minister Modi came to see me, ‘Sir, may I see you please’. Yes.”

“I have a very good relationship with him. He’s not that happy with me because, you know, they’re paying a lot of tariffs now because they’re not doing the oil, but they are — they’ve now reduced it very substantially, as you know, from Russia,” Trump said.

Responding to the remarks, Gandhi posted on X, “Farq samjho, sir ji!” and shared an old video of himself in which he had alleged that Prime Minister Modi had “surrendered” after a call from Trump during the India-Pakistan military conflict.

In the same video, Gandhi contrasted Modi’s approach with that of Indira Gandhi, saying that the former prime minister did not budge during the 1971 war despite the US sending its Seventh Fleet. “This is the difference,” he had said.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh also targeted the prime minister, sharing a clip of Trump’s remarks and writing on X: “From Namaste Trump to Howdy Modi to Donald bhai and now this. What next?”

Trump has announced 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent linked to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. He also said that India had told him it had been waiting for five years for the delivery of Apache helicopters.

“We’re changing it. We’re changing it. India ordered 68 Apaches,” the US President said.

Earlier this week, the Congress had criticised the government after Trump said Washington could raise tariffs on India “very quickly”. The party said that events such as “Namaste Trump” and “Howdy Modi”, along with public displays of bonhomie, had done little to safeguard India’s interests.

The opposition’s latest attack underscores the political sparring over India-US ties, with the Congress seeking to portray the government as weak in the face of pressure from Washington, while the ruling dispensation has maintained that bilateral relations remain strong despite differences on trade and energy policy.