Congress questions Centre over advancing BRICS Summit on West Asia war
Congress questions Centre over advancing BRICS Summit on West Asia war
M.U.H
23/03/20269
The Congress on Monday criticised the Centre for not leveraging India’s upcoming BRICS+ presidency to initiate a coordinated diplomatic response to the ongoing crisis in West Asia, taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s global leadership claims.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh questioned why India has not advanced the timeline of the BRICS+ Summit, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi later this year, to address the escalating conflict and its wider implications.
“Why is the self-styled Vishwaguru not advancing the Summit to put together a diplomatic initiative to deal with the crisis in West Asia and its impacts? Clearly, he does not want to antagonise President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Ramesh said on X.
He noted that the 18th BRICS+ Summit will be held under India’s presidency, with an expanded membership that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE.
“ Modi has reportedly been making phone calls to foreign leaders to discuss the West Asia situation. This mode of communication has its limitations- no hugs, and no finger-waving, gyaan-giving photo-ops for our El Supremo. But Summits can be more productive and result in concrete steps apart from valuable face-to-face confabulations,” he added.
The Congress last week lashed out at the government for not releasing a collective statement on the West Asia conflict as the BRICS+ Chair, saying Prime Minister Modi is "diminishing" the standing of the grouping's presidency in his desire to "appease" Trump and maintain his "cosy relationship" with Netanyahu.
On Saturday, the Congress said the Modi government's failure to condemn the US-Israel aerial assault on Iran and force a brutal regime change there reflected the "moral cowardice" and "political betrayal" of India's civilisational values.
Ramesh had said that Modi also did not use his much-claimed friendship with Trump and Netanyahu to bring about a cease-fire.
The over three-week war has shown no signs of abating, with Israel saying Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the country's eastern region, which is home to major oil installations.
Iran has also fired at energy sites in the Gulf countries and has now threatened recreational and tourist sites worldwide.
The US is deploying more warships and another 2,500 Marines, three weeks into the war it launched alongside Israel on February 28.
