US 'waiver' to India for buying Russian oil a 'national embarrassment': CPI(M)

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) The Left on Friday questioned the Centre over the US' announcement of a "waiver" to Indian refiners for purchasing Russian oil, dubbing it a "humiliation" of sovereign India.

In a statement issued here, the CPI(M) said the country has not faced such a "grave national embarrassment" since Independence, as it slammed the Union government's "deplorable attitude" towards the situation.

Stating that the "closure" of Strait of Hormuz for oil and gas traffic will cast a shadow over India's energy security, the CPI(M) said the US' announcement was like "rubbing salt to injury".

"As if to showcase its magnanimity, President Trump and his administration has 'allowed' India 30 days of reprieve to purchase Russian oil. Rubbing further salt to injury, a US official has plainly asserted that India will never be given similar concessions as was accorded to China and virtually indicated that the Indo-US trade deal was loaded in favour of the US," the CPI(M) statement read.

"Our country has not faced such a grave national embarrassment ever since Independence," it said.

Amid escalating conflict with Iran, the US has announced that it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver on Russian oil purchases.

"President Trump's energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.

Bessent said this "deliberately short-term measure" will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.

In its statement, the CPI(M) slammed the Centre's response to the escalations in West Asia, and questioned its "silence" over the killing of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the attack on Iranian frigate IRIS Dena while it was returning after attending a Naval exercise in India.

The Polit Bureau condemned the "deplorable attitude" of the Union government towards the "illegal war" unleashed by US-Israel against Iran.

The CPI(M) termed the sinking of IRIS Dena by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka a "shameful development", further laid bare by Sri Lanka taking the responsibility of providing safe berthing to IRIS Bushehr, a second Iranian ship, in Trincomalee, after rescuing all its 208 crew members.

"With Sri Lanka's humanitarian response as per international maritime laws, India's squandering of its status as the leading nation in South Asia, has come into sharp focus," it said.

The CPI(M) alleged that the "complete capitulation" of India's foreign policy to the US is reflected in the prime minister's visit to Israel on the eve of the war.

"Modi's infamous embrace of Netanyahu, a designated war criminal adjudged by the International Court of Justice, has removed all appearance of neutrality and strategic autonomy of the Indian government," the CPI(M) added.

To rectify this situation, the party demanded the Modi government to call for immediate cessation of the war, so that peace can be restored and India's self-respect can be "retrieved".

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas too spoke on similar lines.

"US 'grants' India a 30-day waiver to buy stranded Russian oil amid Middle East chaos? Is this 'facilitation' or pure humiliation for a sovereign nation like India?" he wrote on X, asserting that it is time to break free from US diktats on India's energy choices.

CPI leader P Sandosh Kumar in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India's foreign policy appears to have "drifted away from its foundational principles of non-alignment".

The Rajya Sabha MP raised concerns over India's foreign policy posture, alleging a shift from principles of non-alignment, strategic autonomy and respect for sovereignty.

In recent years, India has increasingly been perceived as aligning itself with interests of the US and Israel rather than firmly pursuing its independent strategic priorities, he claimed.

"This perception has been reinforced on several occasions, including during the negotiations surrounding the India-US trade arrangements... and by repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that he pressured India to reduce purchases of Russian oil," Kumar said in his letter.

He said the remarks made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are humiliating for a sovereign nation like India.

"Such a statement raises a fundamental question before the nation: since when has the United States begun 'allowing' India to decide from whom we buy energy or with whom we conduct trade?" Kumar said.

Kumar said this situation is "deeply disturbing for our people and represents a grave embarrassment for India's foreign and trade policy".

He asserted that India is not a subordinate state expected to adjust its sovereign decisions according to the whims of Washington. "I therefore urge you to raise this matter firmly in the appropriate diplomatic forums and make it unequivocally clear that India's energy security and foreign policy choices will be determined solely by India's national interest," he wrote to the prime minister.

He also demanded a "clear explanation" over the "demeaning public assertions" about India. "The nation expects its leadership to speak with clarity, defend our sovereignty and ensure that India's dignity is not subjected to such public humiliation." PTI AO ARB ARB ARB