Rahul says US probe into Adani weakens Modi before Trump

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unable to take a firm stand against US President Donald Trump because of an ongoing investigation in the United States involving billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
Gandhi’s remarks came shortly after Trump accused India of being an unfair trading partner and said he would “very substantially” increase tariffs on New Delhi within the next 24 hours for continuing to import Russian oil. Reacting to Trump’s comments, Gandhi wrote on X- “India, please understand: The reason PM Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is the ongoing U.S. investigation into Adani.”He further alleged that Modi is vulnerable as there were “financial links between Modi, AA (Adani Group), and Russian oil deals,” adding: “Modi’s hands are tied.” There was no immediate response from either the government or the Adani Group to Gandhi’s allegations.

India, please understand:

The reason PM Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is the ongoing U.S. investigation into Adani.

One threat is to expose the financial links between Modi, AA, and Russian oil deals.

Modi’s hands are tied.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2025

According to an indictment unsealed in a New York court in November last year, Gautam Adani and seven others — including his nephew Sagar Adani, a director at Adani Green Energy Ltd — have been accused of paying approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to secure favourable solar energy contracts expected to yield over $2 billion in profits over two decades.Earlier this week, Trump had criticised India for buying large volumes of Russian crude oil, claiming the country was profiting by reselling refined products. He vowed steep tariff hikes on imports from India if elected, sparking a rare diplomatic pushback from New Delhi.India responded strongly to the remarks by the US and European Union, calling their criticisms “unjustified and unreasonable” and highlighting what it called double standards, pointing out that both the US and EU continue trading with Russia in several sectors.
While Trump has threatened harsh trade action against India, he also claimed on Tuesday that he was unaware of substantial US imports of Russian uranium, fertilisers and chemicals comments which drew fresh scrutiny.As tensions rise over trade and geopolitical alignments, Gandhi accused Modi of remaining silent on Trump’s threats despite India’s sharp official response to the US and EU, suggesting that the Adani probe has constrained the prime minister’s actions on the world stage.