'Dost dost na raha': Congress attacks PM Modi over US tariffs on India; questions Namaste Trump, Howdy Modi

Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Thursday launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on India and used the song "Dost dost na raha" to take a sharp jibe at the Prime Minister.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, asked what happened to "Namaste Trump", "Howdy Modi" and "Huglomacy" - the events that aimed to strengthen India-US ties in the recent past.

"Look at what President Trump has done so far since mid-May 2025 -- he has claimed 45 times in four different countries, including at the UN, that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan that led to the abrupt halt to Operation Sindoor," Ramesh said on X.

"He (Trump) has spoken of intensifying the US-Pakistan economic partnership. He has, according to some informed reports, given a green signal to the strategic mutual defence agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan," he added.

The Congress general secretary further said, "He has imposed punitive tariffs on India's exports to the US and also shaken the H1B visa regime to the core. He has singled out India for its long-standing economic relationship with Russia and penalised it."

He also pointed out how Trump hosted Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir at White House and said "the same man whose inflammatory and communally-vicious statements provided the backdrop to the terror attack at Pahalgam".

Ramesh further said that according to reports, Trump will be meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaaz Sharif and Munir at the White House today.

"Namaste Trump ka kya huwa? Howdy Modi ka kya huwa? Huglomacy ka kya huwa? Dost dost na raha...," Ramesh said.

On Wednesday, Congress had claimed that Prime Minister Modi's "huglomacy" has backfired, leaving the country "diplomatically isolated" and causing it to be unable to secure its national interests.

This came in a political resolution that was passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. The CWC said that it is profoundly worried by the "collapse" of India's foreign policy.

"Successive governments since Independence have closely guarded our country's strategic autonomy, which is now being squandered as the government mindlessly oscillates between appeasing the US and tilting towards China," the resolution said.