Congress slams Govt over US permission to buy Russian oil
Congress on Saturday doubled down on its attack on the Modi Government over US officials’ remarks on India’s Russian oil purchase and accused it of being “cowardly and compromised”.
The opposition party’s jibe came after the US said it has given “permission” to India to buy Russian oil that is on ships already floating on waterways with a view to easing supplies around the world amid the West Asia conflict.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has given the Modi Government its certificate for faithfully following President Trump’s orders.
“Does anything more need to be said about how cowardly and compromised the self-proclaimed 56-inch chest has become?” Ramesh said on X, posting a video clip of Bessent, in which the US Treasury secretary says that the US has let India buy Russian oil “to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world”. Dismissing opposition charges, a senior Government functionary on Friday said India has never been dependent on permission from any nation to buy Russian oil, and though the US sanctions’ waiver allowing refiners to purchase it removes friction, it does not define the country’s policy.
Russian oil continued to flow into India even after the US objected to it and imposed sanctions, the functionary said, citing a 2013 adjustment done by the then Congress Government in oil imports under US sanctions.
After the US announced that it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, the BJP on Friday had termed the development a success of the strategic oil diplomacy under Prime Minister Modi, and said it’s a “big egg on the face of anti-India Rahul Gandhi and the Congress”.
