‘Bachke rehna re baba’: Congress claims PM not going for ASEAN summit to avoid meeting Trump

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi not travelling to Malaysia for the ASEAN summit and set to participate virtually, the Congress on Thursday (October 23, 2025) claimed that the reason for his not going there was that the Prime Minister doesn't want to be cornered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said posting messages in praise of President Trump on social media is one thing, but to be seen hobnobbing physically with the man who has claimed 53 times that he stopped Operation Sindoor and also claimed five times that India has promised to stop buying oil from Russia is "far too risky" for the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi is set to attend the summit virtually and has spoken with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim.

"For days the speculation has been — will He or won't He? Will Mr. Modi go to Kuala Lumpur for the Summit or not?" Mr. Ramesh said on X.

“Now it appears certain that the PM will not go,” he said.

It means the loss of so many opportunities to hug and get photo ops with world leaders or to flaunt himself as the "self-styled Vishwaguru", the Congress leader said.

"The reason why Mr. Modi is not going is simple. He just doesn't want to be cornered by President Trump who will also be there. He refused an invitation to attend the Gaza peace summit in Egypt a few weeks back, precisely for this reason," Mr. Ramesh said.

"Posting messages in praise of President Trump on social media is one thing. But to be seen hobnobbing physically with the man who has claimed 53 times that he stopped Op Sindoor and has claimed 5 times that India has promised to stop buying oil from Russia is another matter. It's far too risky for him," he said.

"The PM may well be recalling that old hit Bollywood number: Bachke rehna re baba, bachke rehna re," Mr. Ramesh said.

Mr. Modi is not physically travelling to Malaysia to participate in the meetings related to the ASEAN summit beginning on Sunday (October 26, 2025) due to scheduling issues, people familiar with the matter said.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 28.