India, Sept. 6 -- Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticised the people "defending" a remark by US President Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro, calling them "friends of imperialists".

Navarro had said that "Brahmins" were benefiting from India's purchase of Russian oil amid the Ukraine war. Some in India pointed out that Trump's tariff czar was probably borrowing from the American term 'Boston Brahmins', meaning old money elites.

"Exactly the same divide and rule principle that the British used, which the imperialists used here. And today, you have the friends of the imperialists telling us, 'you know the expression Boston Brahmins is this and not that'. Who damn cares? I'm sorry. Who damn cares? I want Indians to thi...