Overview
- Ram Madhav, speaking at Hudson Institute in Washington, claimed India had halted oil from Iran and Russia and accepted a 50% US tariff, then hours later on Friday apologized and called his statements factually wrong.
- Congress leaders seized on the viral clip to accuse the government of yielding to Washington, with K C Venugopal saying Narendra Modi has lost the authority to continue as prime minister and Rahul Gandhi rebuking the RSS the next day.
- Madhav’s correction matches on-the-ground facts, as Indian refiners have kept buying significant volumes of Russian crude to protect supply and price stability, and have reopened limited purchases from Iran for the same reason.
- Coverage notes the tariff history that his claim misstated, with the US lifting a 25% punitive levy in February to bring effective rates down from about 50% to 18% after India had earlier protested the hikes.
- The panel included senior US policy voices Kurt Campbell and Elizabeth Threlkeld, and the episode has intensified debate over India’s strategic autonomy and messaging in the diaspora during sensitive trade and energy talks.