NEW DELHI– The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday strongly dismissed White House Senior Advisor Peter Navarro’s recent comments about India, calling them “inaccurate and misleading statements.”
“We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr. (Peter) Navarro and obviously, we reject them,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing, responding to Navarro’s remarks about “Brahmins profiting.”
Navarro’s controversial comments, made while defending U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, have been criticized as “casteist” and “sinister” by analysts, sparking outrage in India.
Despite the backlash, the MEA emphasized that India’s partnership with the United States remains crucial.
“India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership which is anchored in our shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges before. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect, and shared interests,” Jaiswal said.
Earlier this week, Navarro had also criticized India’s foreign policy, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Russian and Chinese leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, saying “India needs to be with us, not Russia.”
In an interview with IANS, Edward Price, a political economist and former head of Economic Policy at the British Consulate General in New York, blasted Navarro’s repeated attacks on India, calling them “a shame.”
“Navarro’s attempt to ‘instruct’ a sovereign nation like India entirely misses the point of diplomacy,” Price said. “It is also historically illiterate. India has always gone its own way, culturally, politically and otherwise. It is a unique country with a unique statecraft. We shouldn’t be telling India what to do. We should be making it a fair and friendly offer.” (Source: IANS)
