"Strategic silence, loud optics liability for nation": Congress slams PM Modi as US imposes USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas

New Delhi [India], September 20 (ANI): Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday slammed the Centre after the Trump administration imposed a USD 100,000 annual charge for H-1B visas and said that the move will affect the "brightest minds" from India.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gogoi said that his "strategic silence and loud optics" have become a liability for the nation.
Sharing an X post, the Congress MP wrote, "With the recent decision on H1-B visas the American government have hit at the future of the best and brightest minds from India. I still remember the boldness of former PM Manmohan Singh when one IFS lady diplomat was insulted in the US. Now PM Modi's preference for strategic-silence and loud optics has become a liability for the national interest of India and her citizens."
Congress leader Pawan Khera reiterated Rahul Gandhi's "weak Prime Minister" remark.
"8 years later, @RahulGandhi is vindicated yet again. He called it out back in 2017, and nothing has changed. India is still stuck with a weak Prime Minister," Khera wrote on X.
Congress MLA in Karnataka, Priyank Kharge, also took a jibe at PM Modi, saying "Modi ji's friend" the executive order raising the H-1B visa fee.
Kharge wrote, "Modi - Dolaand (Donald Trump) friendship is turning out to be very expensive for India.Modi ji's best friend signs an executive order imposing a USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas. A move that hits Indian tech workers the hardest, since more than 70 per cent of all H-1Bs go to Indians."
"This comes after the 50 per cent tariff, the HIRE Act, the lifting of the Chabahar port sanction exemption and even his call asking the EU to put a 100 per cent tariff on Indian goods. Thank you, Modiji," Priyank Kharge added.
Congress' strong criticism comes after the US president on Friday (local time) issued a new presidential proclamation titled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers" that introduces a major overhaul to the H-1B visa programme, imposing a steep USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications, raising fresh questions about whether this is a much-needed correction or a potentially crippling blow to America's tech talent pipeline.
The fee is set to take effect on September 21. The proclamation represents one of the Trump administration's most aggressive efforts yet to overhaul the H-1B visa programme.
The move is likely to affect the Indians looking for jobs in the technology and IT sectors in the US. (ANI)