'Vote Bank Politics': BJP Tears Into Congress After Sonia Gandhi Questions ‘India's Silence’ On Gaza

Published 27 June 2026 · politics

'Vote Bank Politics': BJP Tears Into Congress After Sonia Gandhi Questions ‘India's Silence’ On Gaza Published By, Last Updated: June 27, 2026, 09:25 IST Poonawalla

'Vote Bank Politics': BJP Tears Into Congress After Sonia Gandhi Questions ‘India's Silence’ On Gaza Published By, Last Updated: June 27, 2026, 09:25 IST Poonawalla further accused the Congress of making "cheap vote bank politics" a part of its approach to India's foreign policy. Rapid Read BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress speaks on Gaza but remains silent on atrocities against Hindus in Dhaka. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the Congress after the party’s Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her article in The Indian Express on the Gaza war, Israel and India’s foreign policy, accusing the Congress of practising “vote bank politics" even in matters of international relations. Reacting to Sonia Gandhi’s article, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress speaks on Gaza but remains silent on atrocities against Hindus in Dhaka.

He also accused the party of applying “double standards" to foreign policy. “This shows their double standards. Here too, they want to determine foreign policy on the basis of vote bank politics. India has consistently taken a stand on Gaza. It has voted at the United Nations and, apart from that, India has provided humanitarian aid. That is why India’s Prime Minister received Palestine’s highest civilian honour," Poonawalla said. He asserted that India’s foreign policy has enabled the country to maintain engagement with all sides in global conflicts. “India is in a position where it can speak to both Palestine and Israel. It can speak to both Ukraine and Russia. It can speak to both the United States and Iran. Today, we are not non-aligned, we are all-aligned," he said. Poonawalla further accused the Congress of making “cheap vote bank politics" a part of its approach to India’s foreign policy.

“But indulging in cheap vote bank politics over India’s foreign policy has become a habit of the Congress," he said. In her article published in The Indian Express, Sonia Gandhi criticised the PM Narendra Modi government’s approach to the Gaza conflict. Referring to the June 2026 report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, she alleged that Israeli actions in Gaza were intended to destroy the very existence of Palestinians by targeting children. She also argued that India’s continued silence on the issue was “not just morally reprehensible but also inexplicable from a national interest perspective." Sonia Gandhi further wrote that India had “alienated ourselves from our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East" and had “let Pakistan… claim the space of a mediator, a role to which we would have a natural claim given our historically friendly ties with all players." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: June 27, 2026, 09:25 IST News india 'Vote Bank Politics': BJP Tears Into Congress After Sonia Gandhi Questions ‘India's Silence’ On Gaza Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.