New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, declaring that “India’s foreign policy is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual”.
The hard-hitting remarks came amid reports of the US issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to Indian refiners for purchasing Russian oil, a move linked to ongoing West Asia tensions and Western sanctions on Moscow following the Ukraine conflict.
In a post on X, Gandhi stressed: “India’s foreign policy emerges from the collective will of our people. It should be rooted in our history, our geography, and our spiritual ethos based on Satya and Ahimsa.”
“What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual,” he said.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, attached a video from his February 11 speech during the budget debate, where he had warned, “The US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from, if it’s Russia or Iran, the US will decide. But our prime minister will not decide.”
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent clarified the waiver as a “deliberately short-term measure”, limited to oil already stranded at sea to avoid providing “significant financial benefit to the Russian government”.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed similar sentiment on X, alleging Modi’s government is “continuously ceding diplomatic space” and India’s strategic autonomy is threatened due to blackmail over “Epstein Files and Adani Case.”
Kharge highlighted the waiver’s wording: “The US proclamation to ‘allow’ and grant us ‘permission’ to buy Russian oil, as a ‘waiver for 30-days’ clearly demonstrates Modi Government is continuously ceding diplomatic space.”
“This is the kind of language which is used for sanctioned states, and not India, who has been a responsible and an equal partner in global order,” he added.
Accusing the government of broad capitulation, Kharge said, “From trade to oil, from data to India’s long-term relationships with friendly countries, Modi ji SURRENDERED it all.”
Invoking India’s proud legacy, Kharge said: “From Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi to even Atal Bihari Vajpayee – No Prime Minister has buckled under pressure of any country and made India a virtual vassal state, except Modi ji.”
“‘Main Desh Nahi Jhukne Doonga’ was a mere slogan-cry to win elections. 140 Crore Indians stand betrayed. Modi ji SURRENDERED it all,” Kharge charged.
