NEW DELHI: Citing the temporary “permission” given by the US to Indian refiners to buy oil from Russia, Congress on Friday alleged PM Modi was being “blackmailed” by America. The party said India’s strategic autonomy and sovereignty were under serious threat and Modi govt had reduced India to an almost “vassal state”.Congress MP Rahul Gandhi posted on X: “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 shared his speech on Budget in Lok Sabha in Feb, in which he had said: “The US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from… if it is Russia or Iran, the US will decide. But our PM will not decide. And they will monitor…” Congress and its netas shared the speech on social media, saying Rahul’s words had proved prophetic.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged India’s strategic autonomy and national sovereignty were under threat because Modi was “getting blackmailed on Epstein files and the Adani case”. He said the kind of language used by US – “allow” and “permission” – was used for “sanctioned states”, and not for an equal partner in a global order. He said, “From Nehru, Indira to even Vajpayee – no PM has buckled under pressure of any country.“
