Bhopal, February 24 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday of being unable to stand firm against tariffs imposed by the United States.
Speaking at a farmers' rally here, he accused the prime minister of "betraying the country" and "cowardice," and said that a trade agreement that "mortgages the country" was unacceptable to the Congress.
"A deal is struck between equals. Modi was pressured... threatened with tariffs," Kharge said, referring to the Indo-US trade deal.
He also contrasted India's stance with that of Brazil, claiming that its president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva advised Modi during his visit not to give in to US pressure, and to stand up for Indian farmers, as Lula himself was doing.
"But Modi ji does not have the strength to speak against Trump. Lula asked other countries to fight unitedly against Trump. But Modi is not doing that," Kharge said.
US President Donald Trump was behaving like the eccentric 14th-century Delhi ruler Muhammad bin Tughlaq, while Prime Minister Modi was behaving like (Adolf) Hitler, Congress president Kharge said.
India was being pushed into "slavery" under pressure from the US president, he said.
Kharge also repeated the allegation that Operation Sindoor against Pakistan was halted under pressure from Trump.
Congress leaders and workers were being intimidated and abused, and the Youth Congress workers were being harassed, he said.
"We drove out the British. We are patriots and did not write apology letters," Kharge said.
The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of stopping the purchase of cheap fuel from Russia and Iran due to US pressure.