The Congress on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump once again claimed that he had stopped the military conflict between India and Pakistan using trade leverage and that India has “largely stopped buying oil from Russia.”
The Opposition party questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on the matter, asking, “What does Howdy Modi have to say about all this?”
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said, “The TrumpTracker this morning has touched 59. He reiterates: 1. He stopped Operation Sindoor within 24 hours by using trade and tariffs as leverage. 2. India has stopped buying oil from Russia largely. 3. He speaks to Prime Minister Modi — who wants him to visit India, which could be as soon as next year. What does HowdyModi have to say about all this?”
Trump, addressing the press at the Oval Office on Thursday, reiterated his claim that he had intervened to end hostilities between India and Pakistan in May, saying tariffs were the key tool he used to achieve peace.
“Of the eight wars I ended, I would say five or six were ended because of tariffs. I'll give you an example. If you take a look at India and Pakistan, they started to fight, they are two nuclear nations... They were shooting each other. Eight planes were shot down. It was seven. Now it is eight, because the one that was sort of shot down is now abandoned. Eight planes were shot down.
And I said, ‘Listen, if you guys are going to fight, I'm gonna put tariffs on you.’ And they both went, you know, they were not happy about that. And within 24 hours, I settled the war. If I didn't have tariffs, I wouldn't have been able to settle that war,” Trump said.
The US President also described tariffs as a “great national defence”.
Trump further said that discussions with Prime Minister Modi were progressing well and that he could visit India next year.
“It’s great, going good. He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) stopped... Largely he stopped buying oil from Russia,” he said, adding, “He’s a friend of mine, and we speak... He wants me to go there. We'll figure that out. I'll go. I had a great trip there with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a great man. And I’ll be going.”
When asked if he planned to visit India next year, Trump replied, “It could be, yeah.”
India is scheduled to host leaders from Australia, Japan, and the United States for the Quad summit in New Delhi following the 2024 edition held in Wilmington, Delaware, though the exact dates are yet to be announced.
Since May 10, when Trump claimed that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” after what he described as a night of US-mediated talks, he has repeatedly asserted that he played a key role in ending the tensions between the two countries.
India, however, has consistently denied any third-party mediation. The conflict referred to by Trump, dubbed Operation Sindoor, was launched by India on May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The two countries reached an understanding to cease hostilities on May 10 after four days of cross-border strikes.
