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New Delhi: Concerns raised by the opposition and strategic experts – in the wake of the US telling India where it can and can’t buy oil from – about the effectiveness and independence of the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy will likely be amplified by Bloomberg’s report that it was “intensive engagement by the Reliance leadership which helped secure the 30-day Russian oil purchase waiver” from US sanctions for India “and made progress on deals involving Venezuelan interests.” 

The 30-day so-called “waiver” given to India by the US administration to buy Russian crude follows the controversial executive order issued by US President Donald Trump prohibiting India from purchasing oil from Russia. India has been the beneficiary of discounted crude oil from Russia ever since the war on Ukraine lowered the price of Russian oil and India stepped in to buy it. The Modi government’s willingness to agree to US conditions and circumscribe its energy choices has been severely criticised in India, leading to sharp exchanges between the opposition and the ruling party centring around slogans like “Narender-surrender” and “compromised PM”. 

Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed the US ‘waiver’ was a ‘win’ for Modi’s energy diplomacy but Bloomberg’s sources say it was........

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