Trump's ‘destroy career’ jibe at ‘great friend’ Modi gets a firm Indian response
US President claims PM Modi promised to stop buying Russian oil, but Indian government has denied the two leaders had such a phone call
US President Donald Trump's list of varied statements naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw a new entry when he said on Thursday, October 16, that he did not want to “destroy [Modi's] political career” and claimed that India's leader had promised to stop buying Russian oil.
The Modi government has denied that Trump and the PM had any such phone conversation. India's external affairs ministry issued a statement also asserting sovereign decision-making. "It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The claims coming from Trump — such as the political jibe about not wanting to “destroy” PM Modi's “career” — were another show of his allegedly mercurial turns on India and PM Modi.
"I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big stop," he pointedly claimed.
The purchase of Russian oil, which the US says funds Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, remains a sticking point also in the hiccup-ridden but ongoing trade talks between the two countries for a trade deal. India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China — a fact the US cites as the reason for half of the 50% trade tariffs imposed on India.
New Delhi has its own red lines, such as not allowing a free flow of American farm and dairy products into India. PM Modi has said he won't compromise on farmers' interests, but has generally been calm in the face of Trump's prickly statements.
Trump's many words, and an error
Trump did, however, praise Modi in the same breath on Thursday, using the adjective “great” for his “friend" again, claiming that “he (Modi) loves Trump”.
“I don't want to destroy his political career,” the realty mogul-cum-politician added. He went on to claim — incorrectly — that India had a new leader every year before Modi came on to the scene. “My friend has been there now for a long time,” he said, referring to the BJP-led NDA's 11 years and counting, which came after 10 years of Manmohan Singh's Congress-led UPA regime.
Modi's government has been measured in its response, saying it's widening its energy supply base. “Where the US is concerned,” its Thursday response read, “we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing.”
India's Russian oil purchases
- Traditionally reliant on the Middle East for oil, India multiplied its imports from Russia after the 2022 Ukraine conflict, as restrictions imposed by the West on Moscow made the oil available at steep discounts for others.
- This meant that for India, which is the world’s third-largest oil importer, purchases from Russia surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.
- India has argued that the US, at one point, encouraged it to buy from Russia even after the war, as that kept global prices in check.
Relentless in claims: ‘Stopped the war’
Irrespective of policy nuance, Trump has been on a claim spree lately, repeatedly bringing in India's hostile neighbour, Pakistan.
His comments about PM Modi's “promise” and “career” have come just days after he repeated — now over 50 times – that he got an India-Pakistan war, potentially nuclear, stopped back in May. India has denied that it acted under US pressure, and has said it strategically halted the operation on Pakistan's request.
Even on the global stage at the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt, Trump got Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif to the dais, who profusely praised him and gave him all the credit he wants for “stopping the war”.
Trump thanked him, and then called PM Modi too a “great leader” and a “great friend”.
Miffed at not getting Modi's Nobel backing?
US watchers and former officials have said Trump is essentially miffed that Modi, unlike Sharif and others, has not endorsed his Nobel Peace Prize bid for “stopping so many wars”.
Earlier this month, though, mixed signals continued as Trump sent Modi a framed photo of the two of them with a handwritten message: “Mr Prime Minister, you are great!”
Then came the India-Pakistan remark while speaking to reporters as he took a flight to the Middle East for the Gaza summit. He was asked about China, but he chose to meander into South Asia. “I settled a few of the wars just based on tariffs. As an example, with India and with Pakistan, I said, 'If you guys want to fight a war — and you have nuclear weapons! — I'm going to put big tariffs on you both, like 100%, 150, and 200%.' (They said:) 'No, no, no, don't do that.' I said, 'I'm putting tariffs.' I had that thing settled in 24 hours. If I didn't have tariffs, you could have never settled that war,” he said.
Measured in the face of mixed signals
Modi has not directly addressed these claims, instead choosing to take the diplomatic route, while domestically stressing that India must become more “aatmanirbhar” (self-reliant) by making and using “swadeshi” (indigenous) products.
An Indian team is in the US, meanwhile, for the sixth round of talks for a trade deal, even as jibes continue to fly from Trump and his aides.
Jibes have come PM Modi's way also from the Opposition within India over his relative silence on Trump's tariffs. Congress MP Imran Masood was particularly acerbic on Thursday. “Trump hamara baap hai kya? (Is Trump our father?) Why did he tell us everything while our Prime Minister stays silent? What secret is being kept? Are we being pulled back into those same shackles of slavery?” Masood said.
