Opposition condemns Trump's bullying, says Indian interests supreme

Departing from their mocking of Trump-Modi friendship, Opposition leaders have asserted the importance of India's national interests and condemned the fresh load of US tariff. The Opposition's guarded tactical repositioning coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi signalling his design to turn the Trump tariff issue into a nationalist plank with an outreach to farmers.

"India's national interest is supreme. Any nation that arbitrarily penalises India for our time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, which is embedded in the ideology of non-alignment, doesn't understand the steel frame India is made of. From the threats of the 7th Fleet to the sanctions of nuclear tests, we have navigated our relationship with the US with self-respect and dignity," said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

He, however, also attributed the situation to the Modi government's "foreign policy disaster". "Trump's 50% tariffs come at a time when our own diplomacy is disastrously dithering... Your government is clueless how to deal with it. You can't even blame this foreign policy disaster on the 70 years of Congress".


Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said: "If they (USA) do this, we should also impose a 50% tariff on American exports... It is not that any country can threaten us like this... Our average tariffs on American goods are 17%. Why should we stop at 17%? We should also raise it to 50%... We need to ask them, do they not value our relationship? If India doesn't matter to them, they should also not matter to us."

CPI(M) politburo said: "This unilateral move is arbitrary, dictatorial and reflects the bullying tactics of the US administration... The CPI(M) urges the Indian government to stand firm and resist succumbing to US pressure. The government must take immediate steps to protect the interests of Indian exporters who will be adversely affected by these tariff hikes".

The CPI central secretariat said: "The CPI strongly condemns the bullying tactics of US President Donald Trump by imposing punitive 50% tariffs on India in retaliation for its oil trade with Russia. This blatant weaponisation of trade relations is an attack on India's autonomy and a crude attempt to enforce an exclusionary and decadent US-led world order. Such actions are aimed at coercing independent nations into submission and undermining their right to pursue sovereign foreign and economic policies."