Trump aide Peter Navarro’s another bizarre take on India-Russia oil ties: Brahmins profiteering

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accused New Delhi of laundering Russian oil to bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while alleging that the Indian Brahmins of profiteering at the expense of the people of the country”.

In an interview with Fox News, Navarro once again defended the Trump administration’s 50 per cent tariff barrage on Indian goods, warning that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s closeness to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping was destabilising global order.

“India is the maharaja of tariffs. They have the highest tariffs in the world. They export us a bunch of stuff. So, who gets hurt? Workers in America, taxpayers, Ukrainians. Modi is a great leader. I don’t understand why he is getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when India is the biggest democracy in the world,” the White House official said.

“I would simply say this to Indian people to understand what is going on here. You have got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people, and we want that to stop,” he added.

Navarro’s comments coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, where he met Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping — his first trip to China in seven years.

Navarro, the chief architect of the 50 per cent tariffs on India, had earlier attacked New Delhi over its trade with Russia, accusing it of ‘funding’ Moscow’s war in Ukraine and insisting the world’s third-largest democracy “should act like one”.

Dubbing the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war”, Trump’s close aide alleged that India’s oil trade with Russia funnels money straight into “Vladimir Putin’s war chest”.

“India now exports over 1 million barrels a day in refined petroleum — more than half the volume of Russian crude it imports. The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans — and directly into Putin’s war chest,” he had said in a post on X.

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