Opposition slams Modi govt over US waiver on Russian oil, calls it ‘American blackmail’

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 6, 2026: The Opposition on Friday attacked the Modi government over the US announcement granting India a waiver to purchase Russian oil, questioning how long this “American blackmail” would continue and calling the situation an “absolute shame.”

Claiming that India’s strategic autonomy and national sovereignty are “under dire threat” because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “being blackmailed” over the Epstein files and the Adani issue, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the US decision to grant India “permission” to buy Russian oil for 30 days shows that the government is steadily “ceding diplomatic space.”

“This is the kind of language used for sanctioned states, not India, which has been a responsible and equal partner in the global order. From trade to oil, from data to India’s long-term relationships with friendly countries, Modi-ji has surrendered it all,” Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said in a post on X.

He added that India has always charted its own destiny. “From Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, no prime minister has buckled under pressure from any country and made India a virtual vassal state, except Modi-ji. ‘Main Desh Nahi Jhukne Doonga’ was merely an election slogan. 140 crore Indians stand betrayed,” he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said India’s foreign policy should emerge from the collective will of its people and be rooted in the country’s history, geography and spiritual ethos of truth and non-violence.

“What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual,” he said, recalling his remarks in the Lok Sabha on February 11 that “the US will decide who we can or cannot buy oil from — whether it is Russia or Iran — while our Prime Minister will not.”

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “Trump’s new game. He told his friend in Delhi that India can get oil from Putin. How long will this American blackmail continue?” he asked in a post on X.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal alleged that the Prime Minister now “has to beg” other countries to purchase oil during this “Amrit Kaal,” calling it “deeply humiliating” for India’s sovereignty and global standing.

“Instead of standing up to the US dictating terms, a compromised PM Modi is handing over our energy sovereignty on a platter to other countries,” he said.

CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby questioned since when 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,” he said, demanding that Modi address the nation to clarify whether India remains a sovereign nation or a vassal state of the US.

He also asked whether Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had anything to say about the matter. “Or has his and this BJP government’s silence been bought because of the revelations in the Epstein files?” he said.

While CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya described it as “the Modi-era measure of India’s sovereignty,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the US role in India’s energy decisions.

“Who is the US to tell India where to buy Russian oil from? Have we handed over the entire decision-making process to the US? The External Affairs Minister should respond,” Chaturvedi said.