Raise tariff, deportation issues with Trump, Kharge asks PM Modi

Prime minister Narendra Modi must raise the issue of ‘2 Ts — tariffs and traumatic deportation’ during his talks with US president Donald Trump, said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, ahead of the meeting between the two leaders.

Modi will be visiting the White House for a bilateral meeting with Trump on Thursday. 

"When our PM Narendra Modi meets his American counterpart President Trump, he must raise the 2 Ts, which are of immense concern for all Indians," Kharge said in a post on X.

“A 25% tariff on aluminium and steel imports with ‘no exemptions, no exceptions’ for any country, has serious repercussions for India’s manufacturing. We must build closer trade ties for both countries with mutually beneficial framework, given that the US is one of our biggest trading partners,” Kharge wrote on X. 

Flagging the issue of ‘traumatic deportation’, Kharge said the "deportation of Indian immigrants — handcuffed, legs chained — has raised strong concerns among all Indians". PM Modi must stress that any Indian national must not be humiliated and must be treated with utmost dignity, the Congress president said.

‘Even as these pressing bilateral issues take centrestage, all Indians recognise the valuable comprehensive global strategic partnership with the United States. We must do more to strengthen each other and further cement the relationship between both the democracies in the interest of our people,’ Kharge said.