Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has drawn sharp criticism on social media after making remarks questioning whether an incident similar to the recent US military action in Venezuela could ever happen in India.
Referring to the nighttime US operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, Chavan posed a question that quickly went viral for the wrong reasons. “… Will something like what happened in Venezuela happen in India? Will Mr Trump kidnap our prime minister?” he asked, a remark that was mocked heavily across platforms.
Social media users derided the statement, calling it “brain dead”, “illiterate” and “foolish”, while pointing out that India is a nuclear power and a sovereign democracy, unlike Venezuela’s political situation.
Former top cop slams remarks as humiliating
Former Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid strongly criticised Chavan, calling the remarks damaging to India’s global standing. Vaid, who has long tracked geopolitical and security issues, questioned the intent behind such statements.
“Thinking that what Trump did to Venezuela and Maduro should happen to Narendra Modi is humiliating for the entire country. At least think before you speak, Prithviraj Chavan. Or is this the actual ideology of the Congress now coming out in the open?” Vaid said.
Chavan’s remarks came as part of a broader attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over US trade policy, picking up where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge left off. Chavan criticised Washington’s steep tariffs on Indian goods, arguing that they had made trade unviable.
“With a 50 per cent tariff, trade is simply not possible. In effect, this amounts to blocking India-US trade, especially exports from India to the United States. Since a direct ban cannot be imposed, tariffs have been used as a tool to stop trade. India will have to bear this,” Chavan said.
He added, “The profits that our people earlier earned from exports to the US will no longer be available. We will have to look for alternative markets, and efforts in that direction are already underway.”
Kharge’s Trump remarks add fuel to political fire
The controversy follows a fresh political offensive by Kharge, who attacked PM Modi over comments attributed to US President Donald Trump regarding India’s purchase of Russian oil. Trump had reportedly said India showed willingness to reduce Russian oil imports after the US imposed steep tariffs last year.
“Modi wanted to make me happy,” Trump allegedly said in an audio clip referenced by Kharge.
Using the remark to target the Prime Minister, Kharge said, “I heard an audio today wherein Trump said (on Russian oil) that he knows that Modi respects him and listens to him. What does this mean? It means that Modi is under his control. I am reminded of a dialogue from Mr India – ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’. After the ambassador spoke to him, Trump said ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’,” Kharge said.
Despite the political sparring, trade data shows resilience in India-US commerce. After recording negative growth for two consecutive months, India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 22.61 per cent to $6.98 billion in November. Between April and November of the current fiscal year, exports to the US increased 11.38 per cent to $59.04 billion, while imports climbed 13.49 per cent to $35.4 billion.