'Compromised' PM appeasing 'good friend': Congress on Rubio's India trade remarks

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 24, 2026 06:24 pm IST - New Delhi Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File picture | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma The Congress on Sunday (May 24, 2026) targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks that India has committed to purchasing $500 billion worth of American goods over the next five years, alleging that the "compromised PM" was going the extra mile to appease his "good friend". Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, also asked why the Modi government had not shown the courage to renounce what he termed an "anti-people" and "dangerous" India-U.S. trade deal, as countries such as Malaysia had done. He also questioned why the Modi government had agreed to record imports from the U.S. when the Prime Minister had on record asked citizens to cut down on domestic fuel consumption and overseas travel to save foreign exchange. Will this surge in imports not further cause the rupee to depreciate, he further asked. "At 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025, it was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who first made the announcement of the ceasefire that brought Operation Sindoor to an unexpected halt. He had claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that made the ceasefire possible," Mr. Ramesh said on X. At 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025, it was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who first made the announcement of the cease fire that brought Operation Sindoor to an unexpected halt. He had claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that made the ceasefire possible.On May… On May 21, 2026, Mr. Rubio was again the very first to announce that the President of Venezuela would be visiting India next week, he said, adding that this was even before India and Venezuela had even hinted or confirmed the news. "Today, Mr. Rubio has once again shocked the country by making a statement on X that the Modi Government has committed to purchasing USD 500 billion in U.S. goods over the next five years, focusing on energy, technology, and agriculture," Mr. Ramesh said. India's current yearly imports are $52.9 billion as of FY26, and Rubio's statement implies that India will have to double its annual imports from the U.S., he said. "We have five straight questions for the Prime Minister on this new development — Countries like Malaysia have declared their trade agreements with the U.S. 'null and void' after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the Trump tariffs that formed the backdrop to these agreements. "The Indo-US trade deal, signed in a hurry by the PM while he was under pressure from Rahul Gandhi's expose in Parliament, saw the Modi Government unilaterally make enormous concessions that threaten our farmers and industries," he said. "The logic of this deal has now collapsed after the US Supreme Court's verdict striking down the tariffs. Why has the Modi Government not had the courage to renounce this anti-people, dangerous trade deal like Malaysia and other countries have?" Mr. Ramesh said. He pointed out that the prime minister himself urged citizens to reduce fuel consumption and overseas travel to save foreign exchange. "Why has the Modi Government simultaneously agreed to record imports from the US at the same time?" he asked. Mr. Ramesh said the Indian rupee has lost 12% of its value against the U.S. dollar over the past 12 months. Will this surge in imports from the US not further cause the rupee to depreciate, he asked. "Last week, the Trump administration dismissed the criminal fraud charges against Mr Adani in the solar energy scam where Mr. Adani reportedly paid bribes for USD 265 million. Is Mr. Modi's capitulation to the US on imports linked to the relief provided to the Modani empire by Mr. Trump?" he said. "Why is all the communication on Indian foreign policy -- from the Operation Sindoor ceasefire and the halting of Russian oil and gas imports, to the Indo-US trade deal and the visit of the Venezuelan President -- now coming first from Washington DC instead of New Delhi?" Mr. Ramesh said. Why have the prime minister and Foreign Affairs Minis

'Compromised' PM appeasing 'good friend': Congress on Rubio's India trade remarks

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'Compromised' PM appeasing 'good friend': Congress on Rubio's India trade remarks

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