The Congress on Saturday weaponised RSS ideologue Ram Madhav’s comments at an event in Washington DC that India had agreed to US diktats on Iranian and Russian oil and tariffs, with Rahul Gandhi throwing a “Surrender Sangh” jab to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “puppet” of US President Donald Trump.
Madhav, considered an expert on foreign relations, was quick to admit his mistake but the damage was already done.
“Rashtriya Surrender Sangh, fake nationalism in Nagpur. Pure servility in USA. Ram Madhav has only revealed Sangh’s true nature,” Rahul, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
In recent months, Rahul has several times accused Prime Minister Modi of being “compromised” and succumbing to Trump’s pressure and agreeing to terms and conditions set by the US in a fresh trade deal, the details of which are still being framed.
At the New India Conference in Washington DC’s Hudson Institute, Madhav, head of the India Foundation, had questioned where India has been “lagging” behind, where it was “not doing enough” to improve ties with the US under Trump.
“We agreed to stop buying oil from Iran. We agreed to stop buying oil from Russia. Facing so much criticism from our Indian Opposition, we agreed to 50 per cent tariff. Meaning we did not say anything. We maintained patience. Even in the new trade deal we agreed to the 18 per cent tariff which is higher than what it used to be. Where are the issues where India is lagging behind, India is not doing enough?” Madhav asked fellow panelists, former diplomat Elizabeth Threlkeld and former US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell.
Later in a post on X, Madhav said he had committed a mistake.
“What I said was wrong. India didn’t agree to stopping import of oil from Russia anytime. Also it vigorously protested 50 per cent tariff imposition,” Madhav wrote, commenting on a clip from the Washington event shared by another user.
“I was trying to make a limited counterpoint to d (sic) other panelist. Factually incorrect. My apologies,” he added.
India’s main opposition party was not impressed.
Sharing the clip from the event, the Congress presented on X what the grand old party claimed was Madhav’s narration of Modi and his government’s “surrender” to the US.
“It is clear Modi does exactly what Trump wants him to do. Modi is Trump’s “puppet.” This is why Modi can call India a hellhole but Modi does not dare to confront him. It is clear, Modi is thoroughly compromised and the country is paying the price,” the Congress wrote.
In his opening remarks, Madhav had said comments like “hellhole” and “laptop wielding charlatan” had hurt the Indian community in the US.
“Of the three verticals that the India-US relationship stood on, diaspora relationship was one,” he said. “When the Indo-US nuke deal was being talked about, we would oppose it. But members of the diaspora said no, it will benefit. Today there is a lot of anxiety, worry among the Indian community.”
