Sonia Gandhi slams Modi government’s ’silence’ on Gaza issue

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has slammed the Indian central government's 'silence' on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian crisis there.

In an article, she claimed that India is prioritizing closer ties with Israel over its historic Palestinian policy and rights. She linked the country's current Gaza policy to its overall foreign policy concerns.

On the other hand, the ruling party BJP has reacted sharply to this criticism. They have counter-accused the Rajya Sabha MP of misleading the people and putting 'votebank' politics ahead of the country's foreign policy.

It is worth noting that in 2023, more than a thousand people were killed in a surprise attack by Hamas in Israeli border towns. In response, Israel's ground and air operations in Gaza have reduced the entire region to rubble over the years.

In her article, Sonia Gandhi referred to the report of the UN's 'Independent International Commission of Inquiry', which said that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Drawing a picture of the horrific humanitarian toll of the war, she said that more than 20,000 children have lost their lives and more than 44,000 people have been injured due to this conflict so far.

Criticizing the role of the international community, she said that despite all the evidence and legal mechanisms in place, the world community has failed to stop this conflict.

She then accused the central government of being almost completely silent on the Gaza issue and not taking a strong stand against the extreme suffering of civilians.

Terming India as the 'lone voice of silence', she said that this inaction is not only 'morally reprehensible, but also inexplicable from the point of view of national interest.'

She reminded that India is a historical ally of Palestine. If this position is deviated from, there is a risk of damaging India's image on the world stage. Stating that there is no moral or logical basis for this long silence, he urged the government to immediately open its mouth for the rights of the Palestinians.

In response to Sonia Gandhi's article, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the Congress is doing dirty 'vote bank politics' on foreign policy. He claimed that India has made its position clear on the Gaza and Palestine issues many times on the international stage and has also sent humanitarian aid there regularly.

Poonawalla reminded that India has already proven its position by voting in favor of the ceasefire at the UN. Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also received Palestine's highest civilian honor.

Attacking the Congress, the BJP spokesperson said, "The problem is that the Congress always puts vote bank above foreign policy. And because of this vote bank politics, they never built a relationship with Israel.

He further alleged that Congress's sympathies are mainly with Hamas and they never talk about the terrorist attacks on Israel.

Finally, he said, "Sonia Gandhi speaks for the Muslims of Gaza, tweets about Rafah, but she is completely silent about the torture of Hindus in Dhaka. This proves that for them, the country's foreign policy is also determined by the vote bank calculations.