Sonia Gandhi slams Modi govt over ‘stony silence’ on Israel's ‘Gaza genocide’; BJP says Congress has ‘double standards’
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Modi government, saying its "stony silence" and "inaction" on Israel's "Gaza genocide" were not
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Modi government, saying its "stony silence" and "inaction" on Israel's "Gaza genocide" were not only morally reprehensible but also impossible to explain from the standpoint of India's national interest. The Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson alleged that India had drifted away from its long-standing partners in Palestine, Iran and the broader Middle East, while also distancing itself from global public opinion, creating space for Pakistan to position itself as a mediator. Writing in The Indian Express, Gandhi also called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel ahead of the US-Israel joint attack on Iran a “bewildering strategic decision”. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress has spoken out on Gaza while remaining silent on atrocities against Hindus in Dhaka. He also accused the party of adopting "double standards" on foreign policy. The Congress leader said the idea of Indian nationhood requires the country to speak out for Palestinians, particularly children who have been brutally targeted. She also argued that India's national interest calls for responding to global public opinion against the Israeli regime's "genocidal actions" in Gaza and its "brutal displacement and dispossession of lakhs of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank." She added, "The Modi government's continued silence simply cannot be explained rationally or morally." Referring to international findings, Gandhi said the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded in September 2025 that Israeli authorities were committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. She further said that in June 2026, the same commission, now headed by Justice (retired) S. Muralidhar, whom she described as a distinguished Indian jurist, reiterated that Israeli actions were intended to destroy the very existence of Palestinians in Gaza by targeting their children.
Also Read | Netanyahu asks Israeli military to expand control in Gaza "The 94-page report is a harrowing read, with grim details on the extent of the devastation perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the genocidal intent underpinning its actions. At least 20,000 children have been killed, and another 44,000 have been wounded, many for life," she mentioned. Gandhi asserted that the targeting of children was not incidental but a deliberate strategy. "Twenty-seven per cent of those killed or wounded have been children and many of the boys were found with bullets on the head and neck. Ninety-seven per cent of Gaza's schools have been destroyed," she noted. She also claimed that the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, including paediatric hospitals, had led to a 300% increase in miscarriages and childbirth complications. Referring to the conflict, Gandhi noted that in the two-and-a-half years since the "dastardly, horrific, and absolutely unacceptable attack" by Hamas on Israel, the response of the Israeli armed forces and political leadership had been marked by "wanton cruelty and barbarity." She further alleged that senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet, had called for the "complete siege" and "total annihilation" of Gaza, described Palestinians as "animals" who have "no right to exist," and defined success for Israel as “hundreds of thousands fleeing Gaza”. Also Read | Mamata meets Sonia again as TMC battles dissent after Bengal poll defeat Gandhi claimed that despite what she described as clear "genocidal intent," the backing of US President Donald Trump's administration had allowed the Israeli government to continue its "brutal campaign" against Palestinians. She added that countries around the world had increasingly been compelled to respond to the humanitarian situation.
The BriefWire