New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation while lashing out at the Centre over US grant of a 30-day waiver to Indian refiners to purchase oil from Russia.
In a post on X, Kejriwal questioned the very need for US permission to purchase oil from Russia and accused Modi of repeatedly “bowing” before US President Donald Trump without mustering the courage to speak up.
“Who is America to grant India permission to buy oil from Russia? Why does India even need permission from America? In the past few months, the countrymen have watched in great anguish as, one after another, at every step, you have bowed before Trump, and you didn’t even have the courage to speak up in front of him. Mr. Modi, what exactly is this compulsion of yours that has you bowing before Trump?” Kejriwal wrote.
He described India as a thousands-year-old nation of 1.4 billion people that has produced countless brave warriors and leaders, adding that the country had never bowed its head like this before and it
s leadership had never appeared so weak.
“India is a country thousands of years old. India is a great nation of 1.4 billion people. India has produced one brave warrior after another. Never before has India bowed its head like this before any country. Never in Indian history has India’s leadership been this weak. If you truly have some compulsion that Trump is exploiting, then for the sake of India and Indian interests, please resign. But do not bow India’s head like this. All countrymen are in deep pain,” the post added.
The outburst follows US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of a temporary 30-day waiver for Indian refiners to purchase stranded Russian oil at sea.
“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said.
He called the measure a “deliberately short-term” step that would not significantly benefit Russia financially and anticipated New Delhi ramping up US oil purchases to strengthen ties.
The waiver arrives amid risks to India’s energy supplies from Middle East disruptions, following a US-Israel strike on Iranian territory on February 28 that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top figures.
India imports nearly 40 per cent of its oil from the region, much of it via the Strait of Hormuz.