Peter Navarro was hitting out at India's Russian oil purchases while trying to justify Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.

Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro's recent remark on “Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the ”Indian people" in context to India's purchase of Russian oil has sparked mixed reactions from political leaders.

During an interview with Fox News, Navarro hit out at India's Russian oil purchase and tried to justify Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. He said that New Delhi is "nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin". While calling PM Modi a "great leader", Navarro said he doesn't understand why "he's getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when he's the biggest democracy in the world".

So, Navarro said, "I would just say the Indian people, please, understand what's going on here. The Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi referred to Navarro's remarks and termed his statement as his "meltdown reaching peak level of senile".

In a post on X, she said that Navarro's "invocation of a particular caste identity in India to make his point, even if it is to imply the 'privileged lot' vis a vis the rest, is shameful and sinister".

"The usage of the word Brahmin (yes elite Boston Brahmins US context am aware) by someone senior in US Administration cannot come out of the blue in India’s context, this was deliberate. So please sit out on explaining this one," she said in a separate post.

Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose also seemingly referred to Navarro's statement. She posted on X, "Boston Brahmin” was once a widely used term in the US to refer to the American New England wealthy elite. “Brahmin” is still a term used in the English speaking world to denote social or economic “elites” ( in this case the rich). The illiteracy on X is astonishing."

TMC leader Saket Gokhale also explained the usage of the word 'Brahmin'.

"Classic case of ignorance (and I don’t mean Navarro) Peter Navarro is from Cambridge, MA. In New England (esp Boston & around where he’s from), the term “Brahmin” is used for someone that’s extremely rich. BJP “ecosystem” spokespersons should start reading some real books," he wrote in a post on X.