PM can't stand up to Trump despite repeated threats due to US probe into Adani: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot stand up to US President Donald Trump despite his repeated threats due to "the ongoing US investigation into Adani".
The Leader of Opposition's remarks came after Trump said India has not been a good trading partner and announced that he will raise the tariffs on New Delhi "very substantially" over the next 24 hours because it is buying Russian oil.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "India, please understand: The reason PM Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is the ongoing U.S. investigation into Adani."
"One threat is to expose the financial links between Modi, AA, and Russian oil deals. Modi's hands are tied," Gandhi alleged.
There was no immediate reaction from the government or the Adani Group on Gandhi's claims.
Billionaire Gautam Adani, 63, and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar, who is director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, have been accused of paying about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years, according to an indictment unsealed in a New York court in November last year.
Earlier this week, Trump had said he will substantially raise US tariffs on India, accusing the country of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits.
Hours later, India had mounted an unusually sharp counterattack on the US and the European Union for their "unjustified and unreasonable" targeting of New Delhi for its procurement of Russian crude oil.
Firmly rejecting the criticism, India pointed out the double standards in targeting it on the issue and said both the US and the EU are continuing their trade relations with Russia.
On Tuesday, Trump also said he doesn't know anything about the US imports of Russian uranium, fertilisers and chemicals.
Trump made the comments on Tuesday while responding to a question on India's statement on American imports of these commodities.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
