Our Bureau
Srinagar
There were many questions raised on the relation between India and the United States when Donald Trump, the President of the US, announced that he is increasing the tariffs to 25% on Indian goods. Among those who raised fingers was the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah who questioned the diplomatic ties between the two countries following the announcement.
Abdullah, the President of the National Conference (NC), stated that there is no ally of India left at the global stage now with the US also taking measures against us. He emphasized that the country is getting isolated at the global level. Abdullah pointed out that the Trump administration is tilting more towards Pakistan and that too at the expense of India.
The former Jammu and Kashmir CM argued that the Indian government has not taken any steps to showcase to the world that we all need to be together. He believes that India has just tried to prove to the world that we are stronger than them.
“We have no friends left, even our neighbours are not our friends. What we have tried to do is to show that we are stronger than they are, rather than thinking that all of us have to be together. That’s why Indira Gandhi created SAARC, which aimed to bring all nations closer to us. It was meant to think about the economic issues and how to sort them out,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah alleged that these higher duty charges and additional penalties imposed by the US on India is because of the tussle between the leaders of both nations. Donald Trump and Narendra Modi both don’t want to bow down and because of that India is suffering.
The NC President highlighted, “It is a problem between the two leaders – Trump and Modi. They are both strong leaders, and that is why they don’t want to bow down to each other. The nation suffers in that. We have a 25 per cent tariff on our goods going to America, plus an additional penalty. In the process, the rupee is falling, and the dollar is rising. This is affecting everyone.”
