NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his two-day Russia visit, the Congress on Monday sought to know if he would raise the issue of Indians fighting for the Russian Army with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Indian Embassy in Moscow, at least 50 Indian nationals have joined the Russian Army, wrote Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh in a social media post X.“At least two individuals have already been confirmed as fatalities of the war. Many others have been ‘duped’ into fighting a war where they have no stake, aside from a chance to escape the poverty and unemployment crisis that the non-biological Prime Minister has perpetuated domestically. Will the non-biological Prime Minister take up the cause of these youth? Will he ensure their safe return to India as soon as possible?” he asked.The Rajya Sabha MP asked if the relationship between India and Russia has cooled off under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. “I have raised three questions to the non-biological PM. Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh and Putin and the Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev had met 16 times in 10 years. Putin and Modi have met 11 times. So does this mean some cooling of relations between Russia and India? “While his propagandists make grand claims of having stopped the war between Russia and Ukraine, have relations between the two countries cooled off somewhat under Modi’s watch?” he wondered.Between FY 14 [financial year] and FY23, India’s exports to Russia stagnated, falling from $3.17 billion to $3.14 billion, said Ramesh. The import bill surged exponentially, rising from $6.34 billion to $46.21 billion. “Such a lopsided trade relationship is unsustainable in the long-term, and has deleterious consequences for our domestic industry,” he said.“Is a rectification of this trade imbalance on the agenda for the non-biological Prime Minister’s talks with President Putin? What is his vision to improve the trade balance between the two countries?” asked the Congress leader.
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