“Please Mind Your Business”: Kamal Haasan Slams Trump Amid “Permission” Row

Chennai, March 8: Hitting out at the US after a top official said Washington, DC, had given India “permission” to buy Russian oil after the Middle East conflict disrupted global supply chains, actor-politician Kamal Haasan has said India does not take orders from other countries.

The Rajya Sabha MP and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader wrote a social media post addressing the US President. “Dear Mr. President, We, the people of India, belong to a free and sovereign nation. We no longer take orders from distant foreign shores. Please mind your own business to the best of your abilities,” he said on X.

“Mutual respect between sovereign nations is the only foundation of lasting global peace. We wish your country and its people peace and prosperity,” Haasan added.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary and an aide of Trump, has said the US has given India “permission” to buy Russian oil. In an interview with Fox Business, he said, “The Indians have been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept Russian oil. We may un-sanction other Russian oil.”

Trump was asked about Bessent’s remarks and whether the US was considering any other moves. “If there were some, I would do it just to take a little of the pressure off,” he said.

“I think that the oil pressure– there’s a lot of oil. We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount and we have, there’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly,” Trump said.

The government has said that India’s energy supplies remain secure despite the ongoing disruptions due to the conflict. “Despite rising tensions on the Hormuz Route, India’s energy supply remains secure and stable. India has diversified its crude oil sources from 27 to 40 countries, ensuring multiple alternative supply routes. In the national interest, India purchases oil from wherever the most competitive and affordable rates are available,” the Centre said. Officials have also said India has never depended on any country’s permission to buy Russian oil.

The Congress has hit out at the government after the US official’s “permission” remark. “India’s foreign policy emerges from the collective will of our people. It should be rooted in our history, our geography, and our spiritual ethos based on Satya and Ahimsa. What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual,” Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, has said.