New Delhi, Mar 11: The Congress on Wednesday criticised the Centre for remaining silent after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the United States had “permitted” India to temporarily purchase Russian oil.
Leavitt also remarked that the decision was taken because India had been a “good actor” and had earlier stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil.
Reacting to the statement, the Congress objected to the use of the words “permitted” and “good actor,” calling them a “blatant insult to India’s sovereignty and dignity.”
“White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the United States has permitted India to accept Russian oil and calls Indians ‘good actors’. Read that again — permitted, good actors,” the party said in a post on X.
The Congress questioned why the Government of India had not responded to what it described as an affront to the country’s sovereignty. The party also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on the issue.
“Why is the Government of India not objecting to this blatant insult to our sovereignty and dignity? Instead of defending India’s honour, Prime Minister Modi remains conspicuously silent,” the party said.
The Congress further demanded clarification from the BJP-led government, asking why India’s decisions appeared to be influenced by external powers.
“The country must ask: What is he afraid of? Why are India’s decisions being dictated from outside? Why is Narendra Modi being blackmailed by the United States? The people of India deserve answers, because India’s sovereignty is not negotiable,” the party said.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt said the US had allowed India to temporarily buy Russian oil amid disruptions in global energy supplies caused by tensions in West Asia.
When asked about oil-sanction waivers for India in view of the evolving security situation in the region, Leavitt said the decision was taken after consultations with US President Donald Trump, the Treasury Department and the national security team.
“I have spoken to the President about it, and the Secretary of the Treasury and the entire national security team came to this decision because our allies like India have been good actors and previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil,” she said.
She added that the measure was temporary and aimed at addressing the short-term disruption in global oil supplies, noting that it would not provide significant financial benefit to Russia.
Her remarks come amid escalating tensions in West Asia following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28. Iran later retaliated by targeting Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries. (Agency)
