File photo: Congress MP Sonia Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Terming the PM Modi govt’s “silence” on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s targeted assassination and attack on Iran as signalling a “tacit endorsement” of the tragedy, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi has demanded that Parliament discuss the “dissonance” in foreign policy when it resumes next week – suggesting that the opposition will strongly raise the recent events of West Asia in the Budget session.She said the killing of a sitting head of state in the middle of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations. Leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi asked if PM Modi “supports the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order”. Urging Modi to speak up, Rahul said silence diminishes India’s standing in the world.In a media article, Sonia said Modi’s recent visit to Israel and “his unconditional support” for the Benjamin Netanyahu govt just two days before the US-Israel attacks on Iran has raised serious questions, besides the abandoning of an old ally like Iran.
Israel attacks Iran
She asked why the “Global South” would trust India to defend its territorial sovereignty when it cannot even defend that principle. The attitude of govt has raised serious doubts about the direction and credibility of India’s foreign policy, she said. Sonia emphasised the need for “us to rediscover” the moral strength of the values India has stood for – sovereignty, peace, justice, non-violence.She said the PM ignored the massive US-Israeli attack on Iran, and condemned Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE without addressing the sequence of events that preceded it. Noting that India’s ties with Israel have in recent years expanded across defence, agriculture and technology, Sonia said India’s relations with both Tehran and Tel Aviv give it the space to urge restraint.
