‘Doing so safely’: Cong targets PM Modi as he embarks on South Africa visit to attend G20 Summit amid US boycott

Ramesh’s comments come soon after PM Modi embarked on a three-day visit to South Africa, on the invitation of the President Cyril Ramaphosa, where he is set to present India’s perspective in line with its “vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and ‘One earth, One Family and One future.’

Over a post on X, Ramesh wrote: “The Prime Minister is attending the G20 Summit in South Africa today and tomorrow. He is doing so safely and securely since President Trump and the US are boycotting the summit. Recall that Mr. Modi didn’t go to Kuala Lumpur a few days back for the India-ASEAN Summit since he would then have to come face-to-face with President Trump.”

The Summit will convene in Johannesburg without any US representation after President Trump announced a boycott, AP reported. Trump said he was boycotting the Summit because South Africa is “persecuting” white Afrikaner farmers through killings and land seizures, claims that have been rejected by the South African government and others, including some Afrikaners themselves, the report stated.

However, South African President Ramaphosa said the US has indicated that it has had a “change of mind” and wants to take part in the meet.

“It is extraordinary that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the US opposes South Africa’s G20 themes of solidarity, equality, and sustainability on the grounds that they amount to anti-Americanism. It is incidentally the very same Marco Rubio who was the first, at 5:37 PM on May 10th, to announce to the world the abrupt halt to Operation Sindoor,” Ramesh said in his post.

Ramesh also questioned the friendly ties between Modi and Trump after the latter sought to reiterate his claim early this month of ending the India-Pakistan conflict in May, crediting his trade deals and tariff threats as tools to end wars and conflicts across the world.

The Congress leader posted, “So the next G20 Summit a year from now will be in the US. By then, presumably, India’s trade (or)deal with the US will be done. But if in the past seven months, President Trump has claimed 61 times that he halted Operation Sindoor imagine how many more times he will repeat those claims in the next twelve months. Will huglomacy with ‘my good friend’ revive or whether there will be just handshakes or whether Mr. Modi doesn’t go – time alone will tell.”

In his departure statement, the PM called G20 a “particularly special summit,” saying, “I look forward to my interactions with leaders of the partner countries, and participation in the 6th IBSA Summit scheduled on the sidelines of the Summit.”

“During the visit, I also look forward to my interaction with the Indian diaspora in South Africa, which is one of the largest outside India,” PM Modi stated. The US will assume the rotating G20 presidency from South Africa at the end of the summit this year.

From the homepage

Nitish Kumar Cabinet Portfolio 2025: Samrat Choudhary given Bihar Home Ministry, CM keeps general administration

Prashant Kishor’s promise to ensure Jan Suraaj doesn’t run out of money: ‘Will donate my…’

Govt enforces four labour codes, rules expected in a week