Congress takes dig at govt after Trump’s ‘India to buy Venezuelan oil’ remark’

The Congress on Sunday (February 1, 2026) took a swipe at the Modi government over U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks that India is going to buy oil from Venezuela instead of Iran, saying the American leader continues to give “information on what our own government has done or will be doing”.

The opposition party’s dig came after Mr. Trump, responding to a question, told reporters while travelling on Air Force One, “China is welcome to come in and we’ll make a great deal on oil. We welcome China.”

“We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal,” Mr. Trump said.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared the audio of Mr. Trump’s remarks on X.

“He [Mr. Trump] told us Op Sindoor had been halted. He told us India had stopped buying Russian oil. And now this,” the Congress leader said.

“President Trump continues to give us information on what our own government has done or will be doing,” Mr. Ramesh said on X.