Hours after the US President asserted that the Prime Minister had "assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil," Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, accusing him of being "frightened" of Trump.
The Prime Minister "keeps sending congratulatory messages despite repeated snubs," according to the Congress leader." Trump terrifies Prime Minister Modi.
1. Gives Trump the authority to declare that India will no longer purchase Russian oil.
2. Continues to send congrats even after being repeatedly ignored.
3. Postponed the Finance Minister's trip to the United States.
4. Did not visit Sharm el-Sheikh. Rahul Gandhi commented on X, "Doesn't contradict him on Operation Sindoor."
PM Modi was criticized by his party for "compromising the country's dignity" before, referring to Russia as India's close ally.
"Don’t damage the country's relationships just to improve personal ‘friendly ties," stated Congress.
"Once more, Narendra Modi has betrayed the honor of the nation. Trump claims that Modi promised that India would cease purchasing oil from Russia in response to his ire and threats. There is no denying that Narendra Modi is a weak prime minister whose actions have caused the country's foreign policy to become unstable.
India has long had a close relationship with Russia. "Don't harm the nation's relations merely to strengthen your own 'friendly ties,'" Congress wrote on X.
Months after he levied hefty tariffs on the sales, Trump asserted on Wednesday that PM Modi had promised him that India would no longer purchase Russian oil.
"He's assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia," Trump stated. "You can't do it right now, you know. It's a bit of a process, but it will soon come to an end," he continued.
When asked by ANI if he considers India to be a trustworthy partner, Trump replied, "Yeah, certainly.
I'm friends with PM Narendra Modi. We get along really well. The fact that India was purchasing oil made me unhappy. Additionally, he gave me his word today that they would not purchase oil from Russia. That's a significant halt. We must now persuade China to follow suit.
"I'm friends with him. We're really well together. As you are aware, he said that just two days ago," the Republican leader continued.
According to commodities and transportation markets tracker Kpler, Russia continues to be India's top supplier of oil, making up 34% of incoming shipments in September, despite a 10% decline in volumes over the first eight months of 2025.
According to the agency's most recent report, India imported over 4.5 million barrels of crude per day (bpd) in September.
The research adds that Russian oil made up just less than 1.6 million barrels per day, or 34% of crude imports, and that this represents a 70,000 barrel rise over August but flat when compared to the same period last year. At 1.6 million barrels per day, India's total oil imports in October largely stayed within forecasts.
However, according to the data, Russian crude imports have decreased by 180,000 compared to the average amounts imported in the first eight months of 2025.
The decline in imports is solely due to market forces and is not a result of European criticism of India's ongoing purchases of those barrels or the prospect of US tariffs.
