Modi-Putin photo sparks debate in US Congress as Democrats slam Trump

The viral photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a car during Putin’s recent visit to India has surfaced in the US Congress, where a Democratic lawmaker warned that President Donald Trump’s tariff regime and confrontational posture towards New Delhi are driving one of America’s most important strategic partners towards Moscow.

Democrats criticise Trump tariffs

During a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia on the US-India strategic partnership, Democratic Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove held up the Modi-Putin photo as a poster and argued that it was the United States, not India, that was undermining the relationship.

Central to the discussion were Trump’s 25 per cent “Liberation Day tariffs”, followed by an additional 25 per cent duty on India’s imports of Russian oil, amounting to a combined 50 per cent tariff burden.

Also Read: With Putin visit, India walks tightrope between Russia-US as China watches

“The tariff rate on India is currently higher than the tariff rate on China,” she noted, describing the policy as counterproductive.

“Trump’s policies towards India can only be described as cutting off our nose to spite our face, and this is doing real and lasting damage to the strategic trust and mutual understanding between our two countries,” Kamlager-Dove said.

'Turning partners into adversaries'

Pointing to the poster, she added, “Being a coercive partner has a cost, and this poster is worth a thousand words.” She further remarked, “You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving US strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries.”

She also accused Trump of dismantling decades of bipartisan progress. The Biden administration, she said, had handed him “a bilateral relationship at the height of its strength,” citing “a revitalised Quad, a budding defence technology partnership and a trusted supply chain partner,” only for it to be “flush, flush, flush down the toilet.”

Kamlager-Dove warned that history may not look kindly upon Trump. “Unless he changes course, Trump will be the American President who lost India,” she said. “You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries.”

Also Read: India-Russia summit: Cautious talks, no big announcements as Trump’s shadow looms

Democrats further criticised Trump for undermining people-to-people ties by imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas, “70 per cent of which are held by Indians,” which she called “a rebuke of the incredible contributions Indians have made” in the US.

Putin's India visit

During Russian President Putin’s two-day visit to Delhi last week, Prime Minister Modi personally received him at the airport. This was Putin’s first official trip to India since the Russia–Ukraine war began in 2022.

The two leaders also shared a car journey to the Prime Minister’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, a gesture regarded by both sides as an expression of personal warmth.

Also Read: Putin’s India visit will not hurt ties with US, says Jaishankar

They last shared a car during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China, travelling in a made-in-Russia Aurus sedan, a moment widely viewed as indicative of their close rapport.