Strategic autonomy at risk: Congress debates Russian oil exemption

NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was being “blackmailed” by the US, citing the temporary “permission” given by the US to Indian refiners to buy oil from Russia. The party stated that India’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty are seriously threatened, and the Modi government has reduced India to an almost “vassal state.”Congress MP Rahul Gandhi posted onHe had delivered a budget speech in the Lok Sabha in February, in which he said: “The United States will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from… If it is Russia or Iran, the United States will decide. But our prime minister will not decide. They will monitor…” Congress and its networks shared the speech on social media, saying Rahul’s words had proved prophetic.Congress president Mallikarjun Haq claimed that India’s strategic autonomy and national sovereignty were at stake as Modi was “blackmailed over the Epstein dossier and the Adani case”. He said the kind of language the U.S. uses — “allow” and “permit” — is for “sanctioned countries” rather than for equal partners in the global order. He said: “From Nehru, Indira to Vajpayee, no prime minister has ever yielded to pressure from any country.“