‘Nation First or PR First?’ Congress Targets Modi Over Silence on Indian Seafarers’ Deaths

The Congress on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his meeting with US President Donald Trump during the G7 summit, alleging that he failed to raise the killing of three Indian seafarers in a US military strike and compromised national interests for public relations.

Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused Modi of not directly questioning Trump over the deaths and alleged that the government’s approach reflected “PR first” rather than “nation first” . He claimed the Prime Minister did not raise issues related to the seafarers’ deaths , trade concerns or Trump’s remarks on the Operation Sindoor ceasefire.

Khera compared Modi’s approach with former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Indira Gandhi , saying previous Congress governments had taken stronger positions while dealing with the United States on matters concerning India’s interests.

The Congress leader also raised concerns over US decisions on visa policies, references to Pakistan and other diplomatic issues, alleging that India’s standing had been weakened globally.

The criticism came after Modi and Trump held talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, focusing on bilateral trade, defence cooperation, security ties and West Asia developments . During his remarks, Modi stressed the importance of maritime security, saying India had always supported freedom of navigation and that the safety of lakhs of Indian seafarers was a priority.

Trump described the meeting as “great” and praised ties between the two countries.

The Congress had earlier questioned why Modi did not specifically mention the deaths of the Indian sailors during his public interaction with Trump, calling it unacceptable.