Will Modi tell Trump India condemns sailors' deaths in US attack: Congress

In a sharp attack on the Modi government, the Congress on Sunday said India should postpone the upcoming visit of US trade representative Jamieson Greer, arguing that any self-respecting nation would do more than issue phone calls and press statements to defend its sovereignty against "bullies".

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump this week, the Opposition party also questioned whether he would raise India's strongest protest over the deaths of three Indian sailors in a US attack on a merchant vessel off the Oman coast, as well as what it described as the "threatening and unacceptable" language used by US secretary of state Marco Rubio during his conversation with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on 12 June.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh noted that Modi was set to meet his "self-declared good friend" Trump shortly.

"The question that is uppermost on the minds of all Indian citizens is whether PM Modi will raise (i) India's strongest condemnation to the killing of three Indian sailors in a US attack on a ship off the Oman Coast; and (ii) the threatening and really unacceptable language used by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on June 12, 2026," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Ramesh also pointed out that Greer was due to visit India soon to finalise the proposed India-US trade agreement.

"We must remember that the 'framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade' was announced by President Trump -- on what he said was at the specific request of PM Modi -- on the night of February 3, 2026, while PM Modi was under pressure from Rahul Gandhi's expose in Parliament of his cowardice relating to China.

"The 'deal' which was more like a steal saw the Modi Government unilaterally make enormous concessions that threaten our farmers and industries," Ramesh alleged.

He further claimed that countries such as Malaysia had declared their trade agreements with the United States "null and void" following a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Trump-era tariff regime that had formed the backdrop to those agreements.

According to Ramesh, the Modi government had not only failed to renounce a trade deal that endangered the future of crores of Indian farmers but had also remained silent after Rubio stated that India had committed to purchasing USD 500 billion worth of American goods over the next five years, effectively doubling annual imports from the US.

"In light of the Rubio-Jaishankar interaction, the US Supreme Court's overturning of President Trump's tariff system, and the patent unfairness of the trade deal, the least India must do is to put off the visit of the US Trade Representative," he said.

"Any self respecting nation will do more than mere phone calls and press statements to defend its sovereignty against bullies," Ramesh added.

American media reports, citing US officials, said Trump would meet Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on Wednesday.

The meeting will be the first between the two leaders since their talks in Washington in February last year and comes amid growing concerns over the deaths of Indian mariners aboard commercial vessels targeted by the US Navy in the Strait of Hormuz.

It will also mark their first face-to-face interaction since ties between New Delhi and Washington came under strain following Operation Sindoor and the US decision to impose steep tariffs on Indian goods.

The two leaders have spoken by telephone on a couple of occasions since then and agreed in February on a framework for an interim bilateral trade agreement, which remains under negotiation.

Ramesh's remarks came a day after the United States said it had conveyed to India that any violation of its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz or illicit transportation of Iranian oil would not be tolerated.

Rubio communicated that position to Jaishankar during a phone conversation on Friday, after the Indian minister lodged a strong protest over the deaths of Indian nationals in US attacks on commercial vessels off the coast of Oman.

According to US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with directions issued by US forces operating in the Strait in the interests of maintaining peace and security. Rubio also underscored that violations of the blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil would not be tolerated, Pigott said in Washington.

The United States has maintained a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz since 13 April as part of efforts to prevent Iran from benefiting from oil exports.

Three vessels carrying Indian crew members came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of the incidents resulted in the deaths of three Indian seafarers on 10 June.

Jaishankar subsequently spoke to Rubio to protest what he described as a US military strike on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman that killed Indian nationals. "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified," Jaishankar said in a post on X after the conversation.

Earlier on Friday, India summoned US charge d'affaires Jason Meeks and conveyed that American military strikes on commercial vessels carrying Indian crew members off the coast of Oman were unacceptable.

Hours later, Trump accused Iran of launching drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, describing the alleged actions as "totally unacceptable", a charge which Iran strongly denied.

With PTI inputs