Jairam Slams PM Modi’s Silence Again on Trump’s Tariff Claims

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday again criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on US President Donald Trump’s claims of using tariffs to force India to halt Operation Sindoor. This marks the 51st time Trump has made such claims, Ramesh said in a post on X.

“President Trump has said 8 times in 11 days in 3 countries, America, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, that this ceasefire has happened because of me, and I have used tariffs and told both the countries that if you get the ceasefire done, then international trade will increase,” Ramesh stated. “Our Prime Minister does not want to hear about tariffs; our Prime Minister only wants to hear ‘Tareef’ (praise). So, the PM is silent on this.”

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Ramesh’s comments come after Trump claimed that he utilised tariffs as a tool to resolve several international conflicts, including tensions between India and Pakistan. Trump said, “I settled a few of the wars just based on tariffs. For example, between India and Pakistan, I said, if you guys want to fight a war and you have nuclear weapons, I am going to put big tariffs on you both, like 100 percent, 150 percent, and 200 percent…”

The Congress leader questioned the silence of India’s top leadership, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Trump’s claims. “Our foreign minister is silent on this, our Prime Minister is completely silent,” Ramesh said.