Raghuram Rajan slammed for comments blaming PM Modi for US tariffs on India
Akhilesh Mishra, CEO of BlueKraft Digital Foundation, criticised the former RBI governor in response to an old video clip shared by Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, in which Rajan questioned why India faced high tariffs from the US despite the Modi-Trump friendship.
- Jan 24, 2026,
- Updated Jan 24, 2026 3:27 PM IST
Akhilesh Mishra, CEO of BlueKraft Digital Foundation, launched a scathing attack on former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, accusing him of masking political spite as economic analysis. The remarks came in response to an old video clip shared by Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, in which Rajan questioned why India faced high tariffs from the US despite the Modi-Trump friendship.
"Raghuram Rajan salivating at 50% tariff on India (even calling it a slap in the face), because for him India being hurt is an acceptable price so long as Modi is politically embarrassed," Mishra wrote in a post on X (formally twitter).
He said Rajan's commentary was not economics but political spite “dressed up as analysis by a man who has been proved wrong and wrong for over a decade and has been rendered to the status of a troll.”
Citing Rajan’s comparison of India’s 50% tariff with Pakistan’s 19%, Mishra questioned why closer US allies like Canada, Denmark, France and NATO members were also slapped with tariffs. “According to Rajan, a 50% tariff is India’s fault, not Trump’s megalomania,” he said.
Mishra accused Rajan of proposing that India compromise on its strategic interests. “Should India abandon energy security and dump Russia? Sacrifice its farmers and dairy sector? Mortgage strategic autonomy?” he asked.
He also took a swipe at the Congress party for “proudly platforming” Rajan, who campaigned alongside Rahul Gandhi for the 2024 elections. “For Congress party to proudly platform a man who compares India to Pakistan shows us what the limit of ambition of Congress is.”
Mishra alleged that Congress leaders were willing to act like “Trump’s Shehbaz Sharif or Yunus,” so long as it brought them closer to power. He concluded by defending the government’s position: “Modi's India chose sovereignty. Tariffs are the price of that spine.”
Rajan’s old video clip was shared by Congress handles after Rahul Gandhi reiterated his ‘dead economy’ jibe on January 23, asserting that ‘job losses, shutdowns is the reality of a debt economy’ under the current administration. He specifically highlighted the impact of tariffs imposed by the US administration on India’s textile sector, claiming that over 4.5 crore jobs and lakhs of businesses are at risk.
Rajan's original comments on tariffs
The original clip in which the former RBI governor was speaking at an event hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on November 6, was seen questioning the strength of US-India ties, saying: “Where is the much-extolled friendship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the US can slap a 50 per cent tariff on India but impose only 19 per cent on Pakistan?”
He had also warned that such actions leave a lasting impact. “The US cannot be trusted... They sent the seventh fleet to stop the war, to help Pakistan. Indians were very miffed at that and the Soviet Union helped India,” Rajan had said at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs event in November 2023.
Rajan said that while joint military drills and QUAD dialogues are held tariffs were “disappointing” and could damage long-term trust.
Akhilesh Mishra, CEO of BlueKraft Digital Foundation, launched a scathing attack on former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, accusing him of masking political spite as economic analysis. The remarks came in response to an old video clip shared by Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, in which Rajan questioned why India faced high tariffs from the US despite the Modi-Trump friendship.
"Raghuram Rajan salivating at 50% tariff on India (even calling it a slap in the face), because for him India being hurt is an acceptable price so long as Modi is politically embarrassed," Mishra wrote in a post on X (formally twitter).
He said Rajan's commentary was not economics but political spite “dressed up as analysis by a man who has been proved wrong and wrong for over a decade and has been rendered to the status of a troll.”
Citing Rajan’s comparison of India’s 50% tariff with Pakistan’s 19%, Mishra questioned why closer US allies like Canada, Denmark, France and NATO members were also slapped with tariffs. “According to Rajan, a 50% tariff is India’s fault, not Trump’s megalomania,” he said.
Mishra accused Rajan of proposing that India compromise on its strategic interests. “Should India abandon energy security and dump Russia? Sacrifice its farmers and dairy sector? Mortgage strategic autonomy?” he asked.
He also took a swipe at the Congress party for “proudly platforming” Rajan, who campaigned alongside Rahul Gandhi for the 2024 elections. “For Congress party to proudly platform a man who compares India to Pakistan shows us what the limit of ambition of Congress is.”
Mishra alleged that Congress leaders were willing to act like “Trump’s Shehbaz Sharif or Yunus,” so long as it brought them closer to power. He concluded by defending the government’s position: “Modi's India chose sovereignty. Tariffs are the price of that spine.”
Rajan’s old video clip was shared by Congress handles after Rahul Gandhi reiterated his ‘dead economy’ jibe on January 23, asserting that ‘job losses, shutdowns is the reality of a debt economy’ under the current administration. He specifically highlighted the impact of tariffs imposed by the US administration on India’s textile sector, claiming that over 4.5 crore jobs and lakhs of businesses are at risk.
Rajan's original comments on tariffs
The original clip in which the former RBI governor was speaking at an event hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on November 6, was seen questioning the strength of US-India ties, saying: “Where is the much-extolled friendship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the US can slap a 50 per cent tariff on India but impose only 19 per cent on Pakistan?”
He had also warned that such actions leave a lasting impact. “The US cannot be trusted... They sent the seventh fleet to stop the war, to help Pakistan. Indians were very miffed at that and the Soviet Union helped India,” Rajan had said at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs event in November 2023.
Rajan said that while joint military drills and QUAD dialogues are held tariffs were “disappointing” and could damage long-term trust.