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NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over US President Donald Trump’s controversial ‘hellhole’ remark referring to India. He questioned the government’s silence and asked whether PM Modi was ‘scared’.Referring to the controversy in his post on X, Kharge wrote: “Modi ji’s dear friend, “Namaste Trump” has shared a note abusing India and using an extremely disparaging term. Modi ji remains absolutely mum on these ridiculous utterances.” He also cited the external affairs ministry brief response, writing: “MEA Spokesperson said ‘That is where I leave it’. Narendra Modi ji, what are you scared off?”The Congress leader further highlighted the contribution of Indians in the United States, asking why the government was not raising the issue at the highest level. “Indians have played a vital role in America’s success. What is stopping us to raise this at the highest levels of the American government?” he said.Escalating his attack, Kharge linked the issue to broader India-US relations, referring to trade tensions, earlier diplomatic exchanges and tariff disputes. He alleged that at several points the government had failed to protect India’s interests.“From the skewed Indo-US Trade deal framework to Mr. Trump’s earlier claims on mediating to stop the war during Operation Sindoor, from grinning in front of Mr. Trump when he said ‘BRICS is dead’ to US levying 50% tariffs on India — at every step Modi ji has mortgaged India’s interests!” he wrote.He further urged PM to respond despite the ongoing election campaign, saying he hoped PM Modi would find time to address what he called the ‘intimidation and indignation of 140 crore Indians’.The remarks come after the US President reshared an anti-immigration post on his platform Truth Social that referred to India and China in derogatory terms.“A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet. You don’t have to go too far to see that. English is not spoken here anymore. That there’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case,” the statement read.The statement further alleged systemic bias in employment and immigration systems. “You have to be from India or China because almost all the internal mechanisms are set up to run by Indians and Chinese.” The post also claims that integration seen in earlier waves of European immigration “is long over,” arguing that the United States has shifted from a “melting pot” to a “cash in pot”.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a media briefing said that the government had taken note of the reports but declined to elaborate further. “We have seen some reports. That’s where I leave it,” he said.
