Will PM address Trump's ceasefire claims, H-1B visa concerns: Congress

PM Modi address will come on the eve of Navratri, the day from when the revised GST rates will kick in

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, the Congress on Sunday took a swipe at him, asking whether he will address US President Donald Trump's India-Pakistan "ceasefire" claims and the concerns of lakhs of Indian H1B visa holders or just repeat what is already known on the new GST rates.

Prime Minister Modi will address the nation at 5 pm on Sunday, his office said. However, the Prime Minister's Office gave no indication of the subject of his address in the evening.

His address will come on the eve of Navratri, the day from when the revised GST rates will kick in, with the prices of a large number of products set to come down.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "As the PM prepares to address the nation, his good friend in Washington DC has once again stolen his thunder and claimed -- for the 42nd time - that he stopped Operation Sindoor by using increased trade with America as leverage."  President Trump has made these claims not only at home in the USA, but also in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UK, Ramesh said.

"Will the PM address these claims and speak of the increasingly fraught Indo-US relationship? Will he address the concerns of lakhs of Indian H1B holders? Will he provide some assurances to the crores of farmers and workers who stand to lose their livelihood due to his good friend's tariffs? Or will he just repeat what we all know on the new GST rates - worked out under desperation and which become effective tomorrow?" the Congress leader said.

In a sudden move that will hugely impact skilled Indian professionals in the US, President Trump has ordered a steep hike in the annual H-1B non-immigrant visa fee to USD 100,000.

The Trump administration, however, has clarified that the new USD 100,000 fee for H-1B visas is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions and does not apply to current visa holders.

Also, Trump has repeated his claim that he solved the India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year with trade and asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for "ending seven wars".

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim several times that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.

"On the world stage, we are once again doing things that we are just respected at a level that we have never been respected before. We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia," Trump said at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder's Dinner on Saturday.

He went on to say, "Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that -- with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we've stopped."  "Just look at that. India, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Congo. We stopped all of them. And 60 per cent of them were stopped because of trade," the US president claimed.

He added that "like with India, I said, 'look, we're not going to do any trade if you're going to fight and they have nuclear weapons. They stopped."  India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.