Congress slams Modi government after US suspends eight IT firms from green card programme
The Congress on Friday criticised the Narendra Modi government over the United States’ decision to suspend eight major technology companies from a programme linked to employment-based green cards, accusing the prime minister of failing to protect Indian IT professionals.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the US action showed that “appeasement of bullies never pays”. In a post on X, he claimed India had several options to respond under existing laws, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and its rules, but alleged that Modi would not act.
Ramesh also linked his criticism to the opposition’s campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, referring to the controversy as “GyaneshGate”.
The US administration announced on Thursday that it was suspending Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme. US officials alleged that the system had been misused at the expense of American workers.
Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of laying off American employees while continuing to seek approvals for foreign workers. The action was announced as part of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force’s efforts to investigate alleged abuse of employment-based immigration programmes.
The PERM process is a key step in many employment-based green card applications. The suspension does not automatically cancel existing H-1B visas or green cards, but could affect applications involving the companies concerned.
Ramesh also alleged that the Indian government’s decision on merchant discount rate (MDR) charges for certain UPI transactions would benefit American companies. He called on the government to use its available legal and policy options to respond to Washington’s actions. These claims were made by the Congress leader and were not independently established in his post.