he decision taken by U.S. President Donald Trump is creating tremors in India. Along with raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, the announcement that this will be implemented within 24 hours for those abroad has triggered a huge uproar. Without directly mentioning this issue, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that depending on foreign countries is the nation’s number one enemy. He said that a country with a population of over 1.4 billion must achieve self-reliance in all sectors, and if it depends excessively on foreign nations, it will fail in development. On Saturday, while touring Gujarat, Modi made these remarks during a public meeting. Meanwhile, Congress senior leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also reacted sharply to the latest developments. He tweeted that India has a weak Prime Minister. He added that he had mentioned this earlier as well, and once again he is making it clear now. Rahul Gandhi criticized that Prime Minister Modi is failing to protect India’s interests abroad.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also lashed out at Prime Minister Modi. He mocked that Modi’s “friend” Donald Trump has sent him a good return gift, a gift that would deeply hurt Indians. Congress leader Pawan Khera echoed Rahul’s view. He said Rahul had warned about Trump’s conspiracies as early as 2017, and now the whole nation is questioning Modi. “This is nothing new. On July 5, 2017, Rahul had warned Modi that such a conspiracy was underway and suggested that he should act. But Modi is a weak Prime Minister. He did nothing then, and now also the same. The result of that inaction will be seen today. Millions of youth in the country are going to lose out. Trump keeps insulting us daily, but Modi stays silent. Rahul even gave Modi a chance in Parliament to call Trump a liar. Had Modi said that, the entire nation would have stood behind him. Today, the whole nation is questioning Modi,” Pawan Khera said.
Looking at all this, another senior Congress leader, Manish Tewari, alleged that America is deliberately trying to tighten its grip over India. He said what is happening now regarding the H-1B visa is not accidental. Observing the chain of events, he pointed out that the U.S. had announced a ceasefire earlier under Pakistan’s provocation. He noted that the White House hosted the Pakistan Army Chief, after which 50% tariffs were imposed on India. He said that without U.S. blessings, there was no way a Saudi–Pakistan defense partnership could have been struck. These developments, he said, have now made it critical to see how many more twists will come in the days ahead.