TOI News Desk
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that while former PM Manmohan Singh met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin 16 times during his tenure, this was only PM Modi’s 11th meeting with the Russian president.
” While his propagandists make grand claims of having stopped the war between Russia and Ukraine, have relations between the two countries taken cooled off somewhat under Mr. Modi’s watch,” the Congress general secretary said.
Secondly, Ramesh alleged that India’s exports to Russia between FY14 and FY23, fell from $3.17 billion to $3.14 billion, while the import bill surged from $6.34 billion to $46.21 billion. He questioned PM Modi’s ‘vision’ to improve the trade balance between the two countries.
” Is a rectification of this trade imbalance on the agenda for the non-biological Prime Minister’s talks with President Putin? What is his vision to improve the trade balance between the two countries?,” he said.
The Congress general secretary also expressed concerns about Indian nationals joining the Russian Army. He claimed that at least 50 individuals have joined, and there have been two reported fatalities. He suggested that many of these individuals have been “duped” into fighting a war in which they have no stake, driven by the poverty and unemployment crisis in India.
“Many others have been ‘duped’ into fighting a war where they have no stake, aside from a chance to escape the poverty and unemployment crisis that the non-biological Prime Minister has perpetuated domestically,” Ramesh said.
PM Modi on Monday embarked on his first visit to Russia since winning his third term. Following the conclusion of his Russia visit on July 9, Modi will depart for Austria, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to that nation in more than four decades.