Congress asks three questions to PM Modi ahead of Russia trip | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Congress party on Monday posed three questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he began his visit to Russia. The Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh wondered whether the relationship between the two countries was influenced by Prime Minister Modi‘s leadership, despite claims from his supporters about his role in “stopping” the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Russian President Vladimir Putin 16 times during his tenure, but this was only the 11th meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the Russian President.
“While its propagandists make grand claims of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, relations between the two countries have cooled somewhat under Modi,” the Congress general secretary said.
Secondly, Ramesh alleged that India’s exports to Russia fell from $3.17 billion to $3.14 billion between FY14 and FY23, while the import bill rose from $6.34 billion to $46.21 billion. He questioned Prime Minister Modi’s ‘vision’ of improving the trade balance between the two countries.
“Is a correction 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 raised concerns about Indian nationals joining the Russian army. He claimed that at least 50 people have joined and that two have been killed. He suggested that many of these people have been “misled” into fighting a war in which they have no interest, driven by the poverty and unemployment crisis in India.
“Many others have been ‘misled’ into a war in which they have no interest, except a chance to escape the poverty and unemployment crisis that the non-organic prime minister has perpetuated domestically,” Ramesh said.
Prime Minister Modi on Monday embarked on his first visit to Russia since winning his third term. After completing his visit to Russia on July 9, Modi will leave for Austria, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to that country in over four decades.