Congress slams PM Modi's 'personal diplomacy' after Trump tariff threat

Citing Trump's latest threat to impose further higher tariffs on Indian goods if India did not stop buying oil from Russia, the Congress on Monday questioned the effectiveness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal diplomacy with the US President.

"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," said Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh.

His comment followed Trump remarks saying that Modi "knew he (Trump) was not happy" with India's purchases of the Russian oil and that Washington can raise tariffs on New Delhi very quickly. "PM Modi's a very good man. He's a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly," Trump told journalists while commenting on the Indo-US tariff issue.