“Look, Modi’s a strong leader, there’s no question about that. But I can’t figure out why he wants to associate himself with Putin and Xi Jinping when he’s the leader of the world’s largest democracy,” Brahmins profiteering comment in an interview with Fox News. “I would just simply say to the people of India: just recognize what’s going on here. Brahmins are profiteering while the greater Indian people are paying the price, and it’s got to stop, and we’re watching.”

Trump adviser India remark on why Washington had slapped a 50% US tariffs on India, Navarro, in a defence of the US approach of steep tariffs, said India purchased “virtually no Russian oil before the Ukraine war,” but is now buying it at record levels, refining and then exporting those products at “much higher margins to Europe, to Africa, and to Asia.”

Navarro repeated a recent comment by former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley where he accused India of being a “laundromat for the Kremlin” by serving as a refining hub for Russia. He also stated India’s rapidly growing India US trade dispute wasn’t for domestic consumption but was to make a profit, with refined products now being exported in large volumes.

He also criticised India Russian oil trade, and lashed out at its high import taxes, terming it the 'Maharaja of tariffs'. The US official said India's high tariffs, one of the highest in the world, 'pretty much shut American businesses out'.

On China, however, Navarro sounded a more optimistic note, saying the talks were moving in the right direction. He pointed to the existing tariffs of over 50% and said the November 10 deadline for the next round of negotiations was realistic, adding that keeping such tariffs would allow Washington to have “enormous leverage.”

Navarro, who has been targeting India for not ending its energy relationship with Moscow, had even called the Ukraine war “Modi’s war” and had warned India against growing closer to Russia and China.