PM Modi, Jairam Ramesh
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Tuesday criticised PM Modi and the Union government after US President Donald Trump referred to Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir as his “favorite.”The party added that the incident reflects poorly on India’s foreign policy, which it claimed has “completely fallen apart” under the Modi government. “Will Narendra Modi be able to oppose Trump’s statement?” Congress asked. Congress also said that it sends the wrong signal to India despite PM Modi’s “desperate attempts” to gain favour with Trump.Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Prime Minister Modi keeps calling President Trump his good friend and to be fair the American leader also keeps calling Modi his good friend. But what sort of friendship is this? President Trump hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir to an unprecedented lunch in the White House on June 18, 2025. This was the Field Marshal whose inflammatory and communally poisonous remarks provided the backdrop to the Pahalgam terror attacks orchestrated by Pakistan on April 22, 2025.”
He added, “Now in Egypt yesterday, President Trump calls Asim Munir as ‘my favourite Field Marshal’ and gives special place to the PM of Pakistan. What kind of signal is President Trump sending to India, in spite of Mr Modi’s desperate attempts to ingratiate himself with the US President?”Trump praised Sharif and Munir while inviting the Pakistan prime minister to address a summit of world leaders in Egypt after a ceasefire ended the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. He called Munir, who was not present, “my favourite Field Marshal from Pakistan.”Trump also praised India without naming PM Modi, saying, “India is a great country with a good friend of mine at the top.”Speaking at the summit, Trump added, “I think India and Pakistan are going to live very nicely together,” while looking at Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was standing behind him, and responded with a chuckle.Sharif said he would like to nominate Trump again for the Nobel Peace Prize for saving millions of lives.
