Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday sharpened his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the Centre of letting crucial national decisions be announced from the United States instead of India. Reacting to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of an India–US trade deal, Ramesh said the country is now living under what he described as “Trump-nirbharta”.
Soon after Trump publicly stated that tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced to 18 per cent following his phone call with Modi, Ramesh took to X (formerly Twitter) to question why Indians were learning about their government’s actions from Washington.
“It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke today. But this information has come not from the Indian government, but from the US Ambassador to India. This has now become routine — India gets to know about its own government’s decisions from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta,” Ramesh wrote.
In another post, made after Trump announced the trade deal but before any formal statement from the Prime Minister, Ramesh linked the development to earlier events such as Operation Sindoor. He recalled how Trump had earlier claimed credit for halting tensions between India and Pakistan — a claim the Indian government later denied.
Taking a sharp political jibe, Ramesh wrote that Trump appeared to be repeatedly announcing India’s decisions from the US capital.
“He announced the halt of Operation Sindoor from Washington DC. He announced updates on India’s oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. Now he has announced an India–US trade deal from Washington. President Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi. In Washington, clearly Mogambo Khush Hai,” Ramesh said in his post.
The Congress leader suggested that these developments showed a worrying pattern, where transparency and communication from the Indian government were being replaced by announcements from foreign leaders.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi responded publicly, confirming his conversation with Trump and welcoming the tariff reduction. In a post on X, Modi thanked the US President and said the agreement would benefit Indian exporters and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
“Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump. Delighted that Made in India products will now face a reduced tariff of 18 per cent,” Modi said, adding that closer India–US ties would open new opportunities and support global peace and stability.
