Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : ‘So Embarrassing for India’: After Oil Purchase Permission, Opposition Says Modi Surrendering to Trump and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
The US administration has announced that India will be allowed a 30-day waiver period to purchase oil from India. The opposition has accused Modi of mortgaging India for American interests.
New Delhi: After the US government on March 5 announced that it has authorised the sale of Russian oil to India for a period of 30 days, the opposition in India has raised questions about the language of the announcement and demanded to know whether India under Narendra Modi is a sovereign state or a “vassal state” of the US. The opposition has also accused Modi of surrendering to US President Donald Trump, mortgaging the country to American interests.
In a statement, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on social media that 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.”
The Congress in a statement said that “Government of India under Narendra Modi has led the country to a situation where the United States is now deciding where India can buy oil from and where it cannot.”
“This decision is not being made by Prime Minister Modi, nor by the Indian government. Today, citizens of the country are asking: who is the United States to ‘permit’ India to buy oil?We are not slaves to any nation; we are a sovereign and independent country. Period! But Narendra Modi cannot ask this question to the United States, because he is completely COMPROMISED and has mortgaged the country to American interests,” the party said.
Earlier on Thursday, Bessent wrote on social media that this was a “short-term measure”.
“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. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote.
Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said that Indian foreign policy has now become the “result of the exploitation of a compromised individual.”
“India’s foreign policy emerges from the collective will of our people. It should be rooted in our history, our geography, and our spiritual ethos based on Satya and Ahimsa. What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual,” he said.
Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded Modi’s resignation and said that never has India’s leadership been this weak.
“Who is America to grant India permission to buy oil from Russia? Why does India even need permission from America? In the past few months, the countrymen have watched in great anguish as, one after another, at every step, you have bowed before Trump, and you didn’t even have the courage to speak up in front of him,” he said.
“If you truly have some compulsion that Trump is exploiting, then for the sake of India and Indian interests, please resign. But do not bow India’s head like this. All countrymen are in deep pain.”
Opposition leaders also accused the Modi government of surrendering to US President Donald Trump and questioned if there was any connection with union petroleum minister Hardeep Puri’s many mentions in the email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Since when has India needed permission from another country to make its own decisions?! This is an absolute shame! Never in independent India’s history have we been insulted like this on the global stage,” said CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby
“Narendra Modi should immediately address the nation and clarify whether we are a sovereign nation anymore or a vassal state of the US! Does the Union Minister for Petroleum Hardeep Puri have anything to say about this? Or has his and this BJP government’s silence been bought on account of the revelations in Epstein Files?”
Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin said the BJP government “looks totally compromised on India’s long standing tradition of strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy”.
“Why should India need another country’s approval to secure its own energy needs? Equally troubling is the sinking of the unarmed Iranian warship IRIS Dena by the United States soon after it participated in the International Fleet Review 2026 naval exercise hosted by India in Visakhapatnam. When a ship that came to India as part of a multinational exercise meets such a fate, India cannot appear silent or passive,” he said.
DMK MP MP P. Wilson also alleged that Modi has “surrendered to Trump” to such an extent that their Treasury Secretary is giving India “permission.”
“This is so embarrassing for India and Indians – PM Modi has surrendered to Trump to such an extent that their Treasury Secretary (equivalent to finance minister) is giving India *PERMISSION* to buy Russian oil,” he said.
“Total and abject surrender to Trump! We all know why.”
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan meanwhile has written a letter to Modi to draw attention to the Indians in GCC countries who have been affected due to flight shortages and airspace closures and urged the centre to intervene against air fare hikes and increase air flight services to Indian cities.
This article went live on March sixth, two thousand twenty six, at eight minutes past three in the afternoon.
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