Not friendship, good ties matters: Akhilesh Yadav amid Trump tariff row

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday reacted to US President Donald Trump’s "I will always be friends" with PM Modi comment amid the tariff row. Speaking to the media in UP’s Kannauj, Yadav said that “Friendship is a different matter,” suggesting that the bond exists due to the current political landscape in India and not good ties between the two nations.

“The friendship exists because the BJP is in power in India and Modi is the Prime Minister,” he said while hinting that relations with the US must remain strong regardless of political dynamics.

“Good relations with the US are important as America is a country that thrives on business. It’s the capital of capitalism, where money is made and where people dream big and work hard to realise those dreams. The result is that America leads the world in infrastructure, healthcare, education and technology,” Yadav said.

“Relations with such a country should never deteriorate,” he added.

Yadav’s comments, however, seemed to go beyond Trump’s words, hinting at his own concerns about international relations and national security. In a veiled reference to PM Modi’s recent visit to China, Yadav said, “We must maintain good relations with our neighbours, but if a neighbour occupies your land, keeps an eye on your territory and supports Pakistan, we must remain cautious.”

“During the recent 'Sindoor Operation' we had to face more of China than Pakistan, then we cannot advise the government, but we must remain alert and cautious of such neighbours,” he added.

Furthermore, the Samajwadi Party leader also stressed the importance of strengthening India’s economy to safeguard the country's national interests.

“To counter them, we must strengthen our economy. We cannot ignore a country like the US, which has massive trade with us. 8 lakh Indian students study in the US, and many of them are from Gujarat. We hope that prominent Gujaratis holding good positions in the US will ensure Indo-US relations are not harmed,” Yadav concluded.

The SP chief’s remarks came shortly after Trump appeared to climbdown from his earlier statement where he had claimed that the US had 'lost India to China'.

“I’ll always be friends with (Narendra) Modi He’s a great prime minister. He’s great. But I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a special relationship. There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.

Trump’s comments followed a strained period in India-US relations, marked by a trade tariff dispute and reports that PM Modi had declined several calls from the US President.

The reaction came during Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to Kannauj, where he met the family of Brijesh Rathore, who tragically died from an electric shock on August 15. Yadav handed over a Rs 2 lakh compensation cheque to the family and also urged the central government to provide Rs 50 lakh in compensation to the victim's family.

He demanded strict action against those responsible for the electrocution and called for the false charges filed against the family to be dropped. He also criticised the BJP government for the police lathi charge on people protesting for justice, accusing authorities of using force to suppress dissent.

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