Congress raises questions over Elon Musk ‘joining’ Trump-Modi phone call on West Asia crisis

The Congress on Saturday (March 28, 2026) raised questions over the reported presence of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on the call during a recent telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump. The party said the government must clarify the circumstances under which a businessman was part of a discussion between two national leaders.

In a post on social media, the Congress cited a report in The New York Times which said that Mr. Musk joined the phone call.

“Was this truly about the West Asia crisis, or was there another “BUSINESS” agenda? Why did the Modi government not disclose Musk’s presence? Why are we learning about this from another country instead of our own government?” the party asked in a post on X.

Referring to reports that U.S. President Trump had spoken to leaders of several countries amid the ongoing regional tensions, the Congress said no businessman was reported to have been present in those conversations. “Why did this happen only with the Indian Prime Minister?” it asked.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 28, 2026

“Modi is simply following Trump’s direction. He’s more of a manager being controlled from behind the scenes than a leader,” the Congress alleged.

Party slams Israel’s ‘continued brutality’ in Gaza

In a separate post on X, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh targeted the Prime Minister over “continued brutality” by Israel in Gaza.

“In the past four weeks, while the world’s gaze has been on the Strait of Hormuz and energy infrastructure in the Gulf countries, Israel has (i) continued its brutalities on the people of Gaza; (ii) begun operations to create a large buffer zone for itself in southern Lebanon; and (iii) taken decisive steps to convert its annexation of the West Bank to firm occupation,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The Congress leader claimed that days before Mr. Modi’s recent visit to Israel, the Israeli cabinet had approved land registration in “roughly half of the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967”.

“This would lead to the dispossession of lakhs of Palestinians. But Mr. Modi does not have the courage to raise his voice and speak truth to his good friend Benjamin Netanyahu,”Mr. Ramesh said.