The government has ‘reduced India to a cheerleader for Israeli aggression,’ abandoning its longstanding role as a champion of non-alignment, justice, and peace, claim party leaders
NEW DELHI — In a series of harsh social media posts, senior Congress leaders on Saturday attacked the Narendra Modi-led government, claiming that its foreign policy toward Palestine, Israel, and Iran represents a “complete collapse of India’s moral and diplomatic principles.”
Party leaders also averred that the Modi government has “reduced India to a cheerleader for Israeli aggression,” abandoning its longstanding role as a champion of non-alignment, justice, and peace. “This includes India’s silence on Israeli strikes inside Iran and its appeasement of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, as well as the UN’s abstention on the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza,” the posts on the X platform said.
‘Apologist for Israel?’
Senior leader Jairam Ramesh directly questioned the Ministry of External Affairs’ recent statement on the conflict between Israel and Iran. “What does this MEA statement mean? It seems to suggest that Israel can attack Iran but Iran must exercise restraint,” he posted.
Ramesh accused the Modi government of abject subservience to Tel Aviv, suggesting that India has lost its independent voice on the world stage in a bid to appease Netanyahu. “Have we been reduced to being an apologist for Israel?” he asked, calling the government’s silence on Israel’s targeted assassinations inside Iran a “shameful failure of diplomacy.”
Adding further insult, Ramesh pointed out that Israel recently released a map showing Jammu & Kashmir as part of Pakistan and the Northeast as part of Nepal, yet no condemnation was issued from India. “And there is no rebuke from the prime minister or any of his senior colleagues,” he noted.
‘India Stands Alone — and on the Wrong Side’
The party’s General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal, lambasted India’s abstention on the June 12 UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. “India today stands alone — the only country in South Asia, BRICS, and the SCO to abstain,” he wrote in a post on X.
He described the abstention as a betrayal of India’s long-standing position on Palestine, asking, “Has India abandoned its principled stand against war, against genocide, and for justice?”
Venugopal emphasised that India had supported a similar resolution in December 2024, and demanded an explanation for the U-turn in the government’s policy. “What changed in the last six months?” he asked. “We know this government has little regard for Nehru Ji’s legacy — but why abandon even Vajpayee Ji’s principled stand on Palestine?”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge joined the chorus of criticism, accusing the Modi government of isolating India diplomatically and morally. “It is now increasingly evident that our foreign policy is in a shambles,” Kharge said, urging Prime Minister Modi to “take a call on his External Affairs Minister’s repeated blunders.”
Kharge reminded that the Congress had condemned the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but had also consistently demanded a ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Gaza. “60,000 people have died. Most of them are women and children. Yet India chooses silence,” he said.
“India cannot stand by passively while the region faces horrific violence and growing instability,” he added, warning that New Delhi’s credibility and conscience are at stake.
Moral Cowardice, Diplomatic Schizophrenia’
The party’s spokesperson, Pawan Khera, delivered perhaps the most searing criticism, calling India’s abstention a “staggering act of moral cowardice” and a “craven betrayal of our anti-colonial legacy.”
“India once stood tall for Palestine,” Khera wrote, recalling New Delhi’s early support for the PLO, hosting Yasser Arafat in the 1983 NAM summit, and formally recognising Palestine in 1988. “Today, that proud legacy lies in ruins.”
Khera also accused the BJP of hypocrisy, noting that while some of its MPs publicly praise India’s historic support for Palestine, the government refuses to support a ceasefire when it matters most. “This is a schizophrenic foreign policy,” he said.
He cautioned that India’s silence in the face of Israeli aggression could erode its global moral capital and credibility. “Global leadership cannot be built on silence and sycophancy,” he said, adding that India must “speak with clarity, courage, and conscience.”
Pattern of Silence and Selective Outrage
The Congress party’s collective messaging paints a picture of a government driven by transactional diplomacy, ignoring its historical commitments to peace and justice in favour of strategic ties with Israel and the West.
The broader concern among opposition leaders is that India’s foreign policy is increasingly aligned with authoritarian and militarist regimes, and that the Modi government’s “photo-op diplomacy” is prioritising image over integrity.
The posts, amplified across social media, reflect rising unease even among foreign policy observers and the masses about India’s ambiguity and abdication on issues of mass civilian suffering, international law, and moral leadership.
A Diplomatic Reckoning?
With the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening, Israel intensifying attacks across West Asia, and Iran threatening retaliation, India’s position will continue to come under international and domestic scrutiny.
Congress leaders made it clear that India’s silence is not neutrality — it is complicity. And unless the government reclaims its moral compass, they warn, the country risks losing the global respect it once commanded.
