Staff Reporter / New Delhi
India today strongly criticised remarks made by US President Donald Trump in a social media post that referred to Indians as part of a “hellhole” comment, calling the remarks “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” and asserting that they do not reflect the true nature of bilateral ties.
“We have seen the comments, as also the subsequent statement issued by the US Embassy in response. The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests,” MEA said.
The controversy stems from a repost by Trump amplifying remarks made by US radio host Michael Savage, who referred to India, China and other countries as “hellholes” in the context of a debate around birthright citizenship before the US Supreme Court.
Amid the strong backlash in India, the US Embassy in New Delhi sought to contain the fallout, highlighting Trump’s positive view of India. Trump had said, the spokesperson of the US embassy said in a statement, that “India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top.”
The Congress questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“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. MEA Spokesperson said ‘That is where I leave it’,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in a post on X.
“Narendra Modi ji, what are you scared of? Indians have played a vital role in America’s success. What is stopping us from raising this at the highest levels of the American government,” he asked.
“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 percent tariffs on India – at every step Modi ji has mortgaged India’s interests,” Kharge alleged.
“Amidst the high-voltage election campaign of the Prime Minister, I sincerely hope that he gets sometime to react to this intimidation and indignation of 140 crore Indians.”