Looks like we lost India, Russia to 'darkest' China: US President Trump
Washington (PTI): It looks like the US has lost India and Russia to "darkest" China, President Donald Trump said on Friday in his latest remarks as ties between New Delhi and Washington continue to reel under possibly the worst phase in over two decades.
Trump's latest post on social media came days after the bonhomie among Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin drew global attention.
"Looks like we have lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!" the US president said on Truth Social.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. The additional tariff has already come into effect from August 27.
India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" and even wondered why it has been singled out for the punitive action.
Surprisingly, the US has not imposed any punitive measures on China, the largest importer of Russian crude oil.
In the last few days, several Trump administration officials, including White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, have used offensive language to target India.
India's big oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a "massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin", Navarro said last week.
Though the focus of the SCO summit on Monday was to ensure deeper security and economic complementarities among its member nations, what drew larger attention was the public display of bonhomie among Modi, Putin and Xi, signalling a broader convergence among the leading three powers.
A video of Modi and Putin holding hands and walking towards Xi, and then all three forming a close circle as good friends went viral on social media.
In his address at the summit, Xi elaborated on his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the Global South.
As China hosted several world leaders at the Victory Day parade in Beijing on Wednesday, Trump accused the Chinese president of conspiring against the US along with Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
"May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America."
Over the last few days, India-US ties have witnessed a major downturn after over two decades of close cooperation. The tension began after the collapse of the negotiations for a trade deal, as well as Trump's repeated claims that he resolved the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May.
India has been maintaining that it ended following direct talks between the two sides.
Over the last few months, India and the US held several rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade deal, but it could not be sealed in view of sharp divergences in certain critical areas, including agriculture and dairy.
The bilateral trade between India and the US was around USD 130 billion last year and there was a projection of upward mobility in the volume.
The US has also been targeting India for its energy ties with Russia.
Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
India turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Consequently, from a mere 1.7 per cent share in total oil imports in 2019-20, Russia's share increased to 35.1 per cent in 2024-25, and it is now the biggest oil supplier to India.
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Congress demands PM Modi to come clean on 'disclosures' on him made in Epstein files
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from Narendra Modi following “disclosures” in the Epstein files in the US that some “monsters” had access to him, and said the prime minister should come clean on the issue.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, said in a post on X, "The reports of the new batch of Epstein Files are a huge wake-up call about the kind of monsters who have access to PM Modi, and how susceptible he is to foreign manipulation.
"The Congress demands that the prime minister personally come clean on these disturbing disclosures that raise serious questions.”
“Has he met Jeffrey Epstein? Or did he send someone to meet him? What did his conversations with Epstein involve,” the Congress leader asked.
The Epstein files are thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Venugopal claimed equally concerning was a report that while India’s foreign policy was changing dramatically, Prime Minister Modi was “dancing and singing” to the tunes of “tainted” individuals like Epstein to “benefit foreign powers”.
“People of India deserve an answer,” Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "The prime minister himself must clarify.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera also asked whether Modi was in touch with a "disgraceful" American such as Epstein right around the 2019 elections.
On Saturday, the BJP accused the Congress of spreading misinformation against Prime Minister Modi by "twisting" a generic email fragment of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein into a political smear, asserting that there is "zero evidence" of any direct or indirect interaction between the two.
The Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected a reference to Modi in the investigative files related to Epstein, describing it as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal" that deserves to be dismissed with the "utmost contempt".
