The Congress on Thursday launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his handling of US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit, alleging failure to defend India’s strategic, economic and sovereign interests.
In a statement issued by the party’s External Affairs Department, he said the Prime Minister could have used the event to reiterate India’s role in the Global South.
“The Congress had hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would use the G7 summit in France as an opportunity to assert India’s leadership role in the Global South and vigorously defend India’s energy sovereignty, economic interests, and strategic independence. Instead, the summit revealed a worrying gap between rhetoric and results,” the party said in the statement.
The grand old party accused Modi of failing to obtain a sanctions waiver from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which would have allowed India to continue importing Russian oil. “This is a missed opportunity, and further exacerbates the BJP government’s repeated capitulation on matters of India’s energy sovereignty (first by ending discounted oil purchases from Iran and Venezuela, then by curtailing imports from Russia),” the statement said, adding that it would burden Indians with higher fuel and consumer prices.
The party also criticized Modi for remaining silent while Trump repeatedly claimed credit for helping secure a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor.
According to Congress, this could be interpreted as either a “tacit acceptance” of Trump’s assertion or an “unwillingness” to challenge him publicly. Such silence undermines India’s long-standing stance against third-party mediation in bilateral matters, she added.
Congress also raised concerns about Trump’s offer of Indian defense support, saying it could have “profound ramifications” for India’s strategic autonomy. She said that any security commitment, especially one that is not discussed in Parliament, could affect India’s relations with key partners. The party also criticized the BJP over its past allegations of foreign interference in India’s affairs.
“the previous [possibility] “It would amount to an unacceptable endorsement of interference in India’s internal affairs (for which the BJP owes the nation an explanation, in light of its repeated allegations of foreign interference in India),” the statement said. The statement further said that a potential security commitment by the US, unknown to Parliament, would threaten India’s relations with key partners and its strategic independence.
The opposition party criticized Modi for not raising the issue of the killing of three Indian sailors in an attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and the “unlawful sinking” of the Iranian ship Iris Dina. She added, “The two incidents represent a direct insult to India’s maritime interests, its regional standing, and the principles of freedom of navigation and safe trade.”
Congress also accused Modi of failing to challenge developments that, in its view, “indicate a downgrading of India’s strategic importance,” including changes in US strategic doctrine and the renaming of US Indo-Pacific Command. She also objected to a US government map that allegedly depicts Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as Pakistani territory, calling it an “insult to India’s territorial integrity.”
The party claimed that India’s increasing geopolitical isolation has allowed Pakistan to “rehabilitate its international standing” and “reposition itself as a credible interlocutor on the world stage.” She accused the BJP of showing “strategic and intellectual inertia” in dealing with Pakistan, which is increasingly allied with the United States.
“Finally, despite the short-sightedness of the Sangh functionaries asking India to maintain strategic silence, the BJP government has severely damaged India’s geo-economic and geo-political interests. Despite attending the G7 and despite receiving medals (a misplaced priority exploited by foreign powers to maximize their self-interest), Prime Minister Modi has failed to achieve any meaningful technology transfer or defense engagements.”
She also noted that Modi’s “unwillingness” to defend India’s interests and sovereignty is “worrying”, accusing Modi of failing to secure favorable terms in the US-India trade deal while the country is constantly facing an “economic war”. “As the US President’s public statements of ‘friendship’ with Prime Minister Modi have been complemented by sustained anti-India actions and rhetoric, Prime Minister Modi must not prioritize his ‘friendship’ with the US President at the expense of Indian interests,” the Congress said.
She also said that the Indian diaspora community continues to face racist attacks and restrictions on immigration and visas. “We hope that Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government will remember that bilateral relations are between countries and not between individuals. India’s interests must remain paramount, regardless of who occupies the White House or the South Building,” the party’s statement said.
