Overview
- On January 6, Prithviraj Chavan asked whether President Trump could kidnap Prime Minister Narendra Modi while invoking reports of the U.S. detention of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
- He said the Venezuela action violated the UN Charter and criticized the Indian government for not taking a public stand.
- Chavan warned that a proposed 50% U.S. tariff would cripple India–U.S. trade and force exporters to pursue alternative markets.
- BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari condemned the comment as anti-India as online criticism grew, including from former J&K DGP S.P. Vaid.
- Chavan later clarified that he was issuing a caution about eroding multilateral order rather than predicting any immediate threat to India.