Congress Criticizes Modi Government Over US 'Bullying' and Visa Backlogs

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate accused the Trump administration of persistently 'bullying' India under the guise of trade negotiations, while criticizing the Modi government for its silence on such threats from the United States. Speaking with ANI, Shrinate emphasized the significant difficulties encountered by Indian students seeking to study in the US, pointing to a growing visa backlog.

Shrinate further expressed grave concern over recent deportation incidents, noting that 682 Indians were returned to India, handcuffed and on military flights. She accused Donald Trump of repeatedly boasting about using trade as leverage, stressing that this amounted to consistent bullying and insulting behavior from the US, which the Modi administration failed to counter. On May 31, Trump posited that his intervention stopped potential hostilities between India and Pakistan, allegedly employing trade as a negotiation tool.

During an event to mark Elon Musk's departure from a government advisory role, Trump claimed to have prevented a potential nuclear disaster between India and Pakistan through his intervention, stating that trade negotiations couldn't proceed amid such conflicts. However, India maintained that peace talks between its military officials and US counterparts did not involve trade discussions. The video of an Indian student mistreated at a US airport further exacerbated concerns, with Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh accusing India's government of failing to protect the interests of its citizens overseas.

(With inputs from agencies.)