Reacting to Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s recent nuclear threat to India, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Ram Madhav said that India is neither intimidated by such rhetoric nor lacking the resolve to give a fitting response.
Munir’s comments, made during his recent trip to the United States, drew sharp opposition from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which warned Pakistan of “painful consequences” should it persist with such threats.
"Munir ke nuclear threat se koi darne wala nahi hai (nobody is scared of Munir's nuclear threat). Prime Minister has given a proper reply to that. Nobody can scare India with nuclear blackmail. If it comes to that what to do? India also has its own sense," RSS leader Ram Madhav told ANI.
On being questioned if the US was indirectly supporting these comments, the RSS leader observed that President Donald Trump is not as relaxed as earlier perceived but rather a “big transactionalist” figure. He further said that India does not need to be "sentimental" and just deal with Trump's style as other countries deal in their own way too.
"Trump is not as simple as we thought he was before. He is a big transactionalist person, and in his mind, it is clear that whatever he is doing he is doing to increase the strength of the American economy. This is his goal," Madhav said regarding Trump's repeated threat of tariffs and false claims of brokering a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
On a number of occasions, Trump has claimed that he brokered the ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan during their recent military conflict – a claim outrightly denied by India. India says the ceasefire understanding was reached after a conversation between the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of both the countries.
Meanwhile, United States has also imposed additional tariffs on India over purchase of Russian crude oil recently. Trump has also hinted that more "secondary sanctions" could be imposed in connection with the same.
When asked about the pause on the tariffs imposed on China but not on India, Madhav replied that there are already certain sectors which have been affected by tariffs, like semiconductors, but highlighted that both US and Chinese economies are connected.
"With China too, there are multiple areas where tariffs and restrictions have been imposed. In one of their most important exports, semiconductor chips, there have been restrictions on that. China has been on their target way before," he said.
The RSS leader also expressed confidence in India-US relations being stable over the long term, adding, "Both of our relations have reached a critical level that with such differences, there will not be any problems in the long term relationship between the two countries."
(With ANI inputs)
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