Rahul Gandhi criticises India’s foreign policy, endorses Sonia Gandhi’s call for inde
Rahul Gandhi criticises India’s foreign policy, endorses Sonia Gandhi’s call for independent stance on Gaza
M.U.H
27/06/202614
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified his criticism of the Central Government’s foreign policy on June 27, alleging that India is aligning with Israel’s strategic interests as much of the world distances itself. His remarks support a recent editorial by Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which calls on India to reclaim an independent voice and advocate for peace and ‘humanitarian values’ in Gaza.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi reaffirmed the humanitarian appeal expressed by Sonia Gandhi, stating, “Through her editorial, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji calls on India to reclaim its independent foreign policy, uphold humanitarian values, and speak up with moral clarity on Gaza.”
He further criticised the current diplomatic trajectory, writing, “We are slipping further into Israel’s strategic orbit, at a time when the world is increasingly pivoting away from it. The Prime Minister’s visit to Israel will go down in history as a bewildering strategic decision.”
Highlighting the humanitarian dimension, he added, “The spirit of Indian nationhood demands that we speak up for our Palestinian brothers and sisters whose children have been so brutally targeted.”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also drew attention to the consequences of the present foreign policy in a post on X, citing Sonia Gandhi’s editorial to argue that India has lost favour with traditional partners in Iran and the Middle East. “We have also distanced ourselves from global public opinion,” he wrote. Kharge said, “Sonia Gandhi’s evocative piece calling out Modi Govt’s silence and inaction for our Palestinian brothers and sisters, whose children have been brutally targeted, is a stark reminder of how our current foreign policy has alienated our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East. We have also distanced ourselves from global public opinion.”
Sonia Gandhi, in her article, questioned the Modi Government’s stance on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, asserting that the administration’s lack of a public position contradicts India’s national interests and moral traditions.
Earlier that day, Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, detailing the plight of Palestinian families, were shared by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to underline the urgent need for a change in government policy. The post stated: “The calculus of national interest demands that we respond to the 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. The Modi government’s continued silence simply cannot be explained rationally or morally. -Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji, CPP Chairperson.”
Separately, on June 20, Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least six people, including two children and a cameraman for broadcaster Al Jazeera, according to Palestinian health officials as reported by Politico.
Earlier in June, the Palestinian Ministry of Health described the health sector as facing a serious and unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to a severe financial crisis and an ongoing financial siege imposed by Israel. This situation allegedly endangers the lives of thousands of Palestinian patients and threatens to collapse the healthcare system.
The Palestinian authorities report that the crisis is worsening amid a sharp economic decline, increased poverty and unemployment, and greater reliance on overstretched public healthcare services. They warned that the ongoing deterioration of healthcare poses a grave humanitarian threat and called on the international community, humanitarian organisations, and donor states to take urgent action to support the Palestinian health sector and protect patients’ rights to life and medical treatment.
