Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday (January 6, 2026) sparked a row by asking if U.S. President Trump would use any coercive tactics against India and would kidnap Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The former Union Minister later said that he was not predicting anything, but was issuing a warning that countries need to stand together to maintain global order. He was referring to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. forces.
“The question then is: what next? Will something like what happened in Venezuela happen in India? Will Mr. Trump kidnap our prime minister?” he asked. Mr. Chavan was speaking about the high tariffs imposed by the U.S. on India.
PM Modi ‘not that happy with me’ because they are paying a lot of tariffs: Trump
“The 50% tariff would effectively cripple India’s trade with the U.S. Since a direct ban cannot be imposed, tariffs have been used as a tool to stop trade. India will have to bear this,” he said.
