NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday intensified the Congress’s attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Donald Trump administration in the US announced a steep $100,000 charge on H‑1B visa applications, a move expected to severely impact India’s tech workforce. Reviving a familiar critique, Gandhi reiterated his “weak PM” remark, accusing the prime minister of not defending Indian interests overseas.
Gandhi reshared a 2017 post on X stating “India has a weak PM,” attaching screenshots of media reports, and added, “I repeat, India has a weak PM,” while linking fresh coverage of the H‑1B decision seen as affecting thousands of Indian aspirants.
According to the new directive, US employers hiring foreign skilled professionals on H‑1B visas must pay an additional $100,000 per application, a substantial escalation that could weigh heavily on Indian IT professionals and workers already in the US.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the prime minister, saying, “Indians are pained by the return gifts you have received after the birthday call. Birthday Return Gifts from your ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’ Govt!” He referenced Prime Minister Modi’s public outreach with Donald Trump in Ahmedabad during the latter’s previous presidency.
Kharge broadened the critique to foreign policy, recalling Trump’s repeated assertions about mediating between India and Pakistan, which became more prominent around Operation Sindoor.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, posting on X, argued that the US move strikes at the prospects of India’s top talent. He contrasted this with what he described as former PM Manmohan Singh’s firm response when a woman IFS officer was mistreated in the US, adding that “strategic-silence and loud-optics” under PM Modi have turned into a liability for India’s national interest.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the Centre’s foreign policy following the US announcement. Speaking to ANI, he said, “This is not the first incident where America is behaving like this with India; our foreign policy is only weak. What is our preparation if other nations do the same thing tomorrow? … We are becoming dependent on other nations. For fertilisers and oil, we are dependent on other nations.”
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