Congress criticises Modi government's policy after US passes Russia sanctions bill

New Delhi: Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the Modi government, saying "appeasement has never paid and will never pay" after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on Russia's trading partners in oil and gas.

The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House of Representatives in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday and will now go to Trump to be signed into law.

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Reacting to the passage, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, stated on X, "Appeasement has never paid and will never pay." Congress had attacked the Centre on Tuesday for introducing the merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI transactions and said this had been done under US pressure to benefit card companies.

The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia's leadership and energy sector, but also on the "shadow fleet" of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries. It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.

Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and an Independent voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it. Democratic opposition largely centred around the tariff authorities provided to Trump. The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.