Congress slams Modi govt after US House passes Russia sanctions bill
The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the Modi government after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on Russia's trading partners in oil and gas, saying appeasement has never paid and will never pay.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday and will now go to Trump to be signed into law.
The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia's leadership and energy sector, but also on the "shadow fleet" of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries. It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.
Reacting to the bill's passage, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, wrote on X, "Appeasement has never paid and will never pay."
Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one Independent voted in favour of the legislation, while seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it. Democratic opposition largely centred on the tariff authorities being handed to Trump.
The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.
"China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters after the bill's passage.
