Trump vs Modi: The Russian Oil Import Row

The Congress party criticized the Indian government's handling of its oil imports from Russia, citing repeated comments by US President Donald Trump. Trump claims Prime Minister Modi assured him of halting these imports, despite denials from the Ministry of External Affairs. The controversy has added tension between India and the US.

The Congress party took aim at the Indian government on Tuesday, highlighting the ongoing controversy over the country's oil imports from Russia. This issue has become a focal point due to recent statements by US President Donald Trump. According to Trump, he has spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who allegedly assured him that India would cease its oil imports from Moscow.

This assertion by Trump, made multiple times over the past five days, has been met with skepticism by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which denies any such conversation between the world leaders. Jairam Ramesh, Congress' general secretary for communications, suggests Trump plans to bring up the issue in his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.

As tensions rise, India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized the nation's strategy of broad-basing and diversifying energy sources to safeguard consumer interests amid a volatile market. Meanwhile, Congress alleges that Prime Minister Modi appears overly deferential to US demands, critiquing the government's broader foreign policy strategy as having collapsed.

(With inputs from agencies.)