‘Will Trump Kidnap Our Prime Minister?’ Congress’ Prithviraj Chavan Asks Absurd Question

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan stirred up a political controversy after drawing the comparison between India and Venezuela while attacking US trade policies under President Donald Trump. The BJP has responded sharply to his comments, which were made in light of the high American tariffs on Indian exports.  

When discussing the matter, Chavan brought up current events in Venezuela and posed a hypothetical scenario.“The question then is: what next? Will something like what happened in Venezuela happen in India? Will Mr Trump kidnap our prime minister?” he stated, referring to the US military action that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 

A planned 50% tax, according to Chavan, would seriously harm US-Indian economic relations.“Since a direct ban cannot be imposed, tariffs have been used as a tool to stop trade. India will have to bear this,”he added.

The BJP hit back strongly, accusing the Congress of portraying India as weak and undermining its sovereignty. 

The ruling party claimed that such remarks denigrated India's democratic strength and implied that the Congress was looking for foreign meddling in domestic affairs.

Kharge’s earlier remarks add to political heat

Chavan’s remarks came a day after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge escalated his attack on the Modi government, referring to statements made by Donald Trump on India’s purchase of Russian oil.

“I do not understand why Modi is bending before him. This is harmful for the nation,” Kharge said.

“You were not elected as prime minister to nod to whatever he says.” Kharge also invoked Venezuela while warning against expansionist policies.

While cautioning against expansionist ambitions, Kharge also made reference to Venezuela.

“Those who believe in expansionism do not last long. History has shown that such thinking ultimately fails,” he said.

Trade data continue to rise despite the political verbal spat. India's exports to the US increased by 22.61 percent to $6.98 billion in November, following two months of negative growth. In the current fiscal year, imports jumped 13.49 percent to $35.4 billion, while exports to the US increased 11.38 percent to $59.04 billion between April and November.