NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his “good friend” in Washington DC, “stole PM’s headlines” after US President Donald Trump once again claimed credit for halting Operation Sindoor by leveraging increased trade with America. In a post on X, Ramesh said, “The Prime Minister is preparing to address the nation, while in Washington DC, his good friend has once again stolen his headlines by claiming for the 42nd time that he stopped Operation Sindoor by taking advantage of the growing trade with America.”
He questioned whether the PM would discuss on the continuously deteriorating India-US relations or the concerns of millions of Indian H1B holders or would give some assurance to those millions of farmers and workers whose livelihoods are at risk due to the tariffs or rather instead focus solely on new GST rates. “Will the PM address these claims and speak of the increasingly fraught Indo-US relationship? Will he address the concerns of lakhs of Indian H1B holders? Will he provide some assurances to the crores of farmers and workers who stand to lose their livelihood due to his good friend’s tariffs? Or will he just repeat what we all know on the new GST rates – worked out under desperation and which become effective tomorrow?” the post read. Earlier in the day, Trump reiterated his claims of brokering peace between India and Pakistan earlier this year through trade, stating that he should be honoured with the Nobel Prize for “ending seven wars.” Addressing the American Cornerstone Institute Founder’s Dinner on Saturday, Trump said, “We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia.” “Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that — with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we’ve stopped,” he added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation today at 5 pm. This comes on the eve of Navaratri, which begins on Monday and coincides with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms.
