Prithviraj Chavan asks if Trump will ‘kidnap’ PM Modi, sparks row

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has kicked up a storm, asking whether US President Donald Trump will capture Prime Minister Narendra Modi like he captured the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"... Will something like what happened in Venezuela happen in India? Will Mr Trump kidnap our prime minister?" said Chavan as quoted by NDTV.

‘India-US trade impossible with Trump’s tariffs’

Chavan also said that with the Trump administration imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, any kind of trade with the US has become practically impossible.

The former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Union Minister said that since the US cannot impose a direct ban on the import of Indian goods, it has imposed tariffs to stop the trade, adding that Indian manufacturers need to look for alternative markets.

Also Read: ‘I was captured’: Maduro pleads not guilty in US drug trafficking case

"With a 50 per cent tariff, trade is simply not possible. In effect, this amounts to blocking India-US trade, especially exports from India to the United States. Since a direct ban cannot be imposed, tariffs have been used as a tool to stop trade. India will have to bear this," said Chavan.

"The profits that our people earlier earned from exports to the US will no longer be available. We will have to look for alternative markets, and efforts in that direction are already underway," he added.

EX-JK DGP slams Chavan

His remarks triggered a sharp response from a former Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP), who described it as “humiliating for the entire country.”

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“Thinking that what Trump did to Venezuela and Maduro should happen to Narendra Modi is humiliating for the entire country. At least think before you speak, Prithviraj Chavan. Or is this the actual ideology of the Congress now coming out in the open?” he stated in a post on X.

Chavan’s remarks also triggered a severe social media backlash with a section of netizens dubbing him "brain dead", "illiterate", "fool", etc.

‘Still President’, says Maduro

Earlier, Maduro struck a defiant tone during his first court appearance in the United States, declaring himself “the president of my country” as he pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges on Monday.

“I was captured,” Maduro said in Spanish, according to a courtroom translation, before being interrupted by the judge. When formally asked for his plea, he said he was innocent and described himself as a “decent man” unlawfully removed from power.