Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has questioned the government’s “silence” on Gaza. In an Op-Ed piece, she has claimed that India is prioritising closer ties with Israel over its historical position on Palestinian rights, linking the country’s Gaza policy to the broader foreign policy concerns.
The BJP accused the Rajya Sabha MP of trying to misinform the people and putting vote bank ahead of foreign policy.
Gaza had been reduced to rubble over years of Israeli ground operations since a deadly 2023 attack by Hamas that left over a thousand dead in Israeli border towns.
‘Lone Voice Of Silence’
The newspaper article by Gandhi cited the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry’s report that concluded that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. She also highlighted the human cost of such a conflict: more than 20,000 children had died, and 44,000 were wounded.
Read: Gaza “Genocide” Has Set “Horrendous Precedent”: Priyanka Gandhi
She criticised global inaction and argued that despite mounting evidence and legal proceedings, the international community has failed to stop the conflict.
Criticising the central government, she alleged that it has largely been silent on Gaza and has not spoken out strongly against the civilian suffering. Claiming that India remains a “lone voice of silence”, she said the inaction is not just “morally reprehensible but also inexplicable from a national interest perspective.”
She also pointed out that India has historically been an ally of Palestine and claimed that moving away from this position risks damaging the country’s global standing. Stating that continued silence cannot be morally or rationally justified, she called on the government to speak out in favour of Palestinian rights.
‘Vote Bank On Foreign Policy’
Criticising Gandhi’s article, the BJP said the Congress does vote bank politics over foreign policy. Rather, India has articulated its position on the Gaza and Palestine issue multiple times and has given humanitarian aid, said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala.
India has shown its stand by voting at the United Nations on resolutions on ceasefire, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received Palestine’s highest civilian honour, he pointed out.
Read: Israel Committing ‘Genocide’ In Gaza, Say UN investigators
“The problem is that Congress always puts vote bank on foreign policy and therefore, they, in the name of vote bank politics, never developed any relations with Israel,” he said, adding that the party sympathises with Hamas and never speaks on attacks on Israel.
“Sonia Gandhi speaks up for the Muslims in Gaza, they tweet about Rafa, but they are silent on Hindus in Dhaka. This shows that for them, even foreign policy is calculated on the table, on the calculus of vote bank,” he said.
