The Congress on Friday (March 6) took a swipe at the Modi government after the US announced a temporary waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, and asked till when will this “American blackmail” continue.
In a post in rhyming in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Trump’s new game, told Delhi friend, you can tell him, how long will this American blackmail continue? (Trump’s new game; told his friend in Delhi you can get oil from Putin; how long will this American blackmail continue?) Amid the escalating conflict with Iran, the US said it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver on Russian oil purchases.
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Congress MP Manish Tewari also questioned India’s sovereignty over the US waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.
In a post on X, Tewari said the “sanctimonious language of issuing a 30-day waiver drips with neo-imperial arrogance” and questioned whether India needed permission from the United States to secure its energy needs.
He also slammed the Centre for its silence on US’ statement, saying the “silence of an otherwise overly loquacious government is deafening” and asked whether it understood the meaning of sovereignty.
US defends temporary waiver
“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.
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Bessent said this “deliberately short-term measure” will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.
“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said in a post on X.
US President Donald Trump had imposed 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, with the administration asserting that Delhi’s purchases were helping fuel Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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Last month, the US and India announced they had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on trade, and Trump issued an Executive Order removing the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India, noting the commitment by New Delhi to stop importing energy from Moscow and increase purchasing American energy products.
(With agency inputs)
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