Congress leader and former MP Udit Raj on Sunday strongly endorsed White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s controversial remarks, claiming that India’s upper-caste corporate houses are reaping massive profits from Russian crude oil purchases.

Addressing the media, Udit Raj asserted, “I fully agree with Peter Navarro’s statement that Brahmins are benefiting from Russian oil. Corporate houses in India are largely controlled by upper castes. They buy oil from Russia, refine it, and sell it at inflated prices. Ordinary Indians see no benefits from this.”

The Dalit leader further argued that it would take at least a century for backward castes and Dalits to establish significant corporate enterprises in India, citing systemic barriers. “The entrenched discrimination makes it nearly impossible for backward castes and Dalits to set up major corporate houses in the next 100 years. Navarro’s remarks are factually correct, and nobody can deny this reality,” he added.

Udit Raj’s comments come shortly after Navarro, a close aide of former US President Donald Trump, accused India of indirectly funding Russia’s war in Ukraine through crude oil imports. Navarro described India as “the maharaja of tariffs” and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent engagements with Russia and China.

“India is the maharaja of tariffs, with the highest rates in the world. They export a lot to us. Who suffers? American workers, taxpayers, Ukrainians. Modi is a great leader, but why is he getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when India is the biggest democracy in the world?” Navarro said during a Fox News interview.

The senior White House official added, “Indian people need to understand this: Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of ordinary Indians, and we want that to stop.”

Navarro, the architect of the 50% US tariffs on Indian imports, has previously labeled India’s crude purchases as bolstering Russia’s war efforts, prompting New Delhi to defend its energy strategy as compliant with global market operations.