BJP MP Tejasvi Surya lashed out at the CWC resolution and accused the Congress of being “hostage to minority vote bank politics.”…reports Asian Lite News
The ongoing Israel-Palestine violence has spilled onto India’s domestic politics with the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking contrasting positions.
The Congress in its resolution passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) – the party’s highest decision-making body on Monday, has said that reiterates its “long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people.”
On the other hand, the BJP has used the war to mount an attack on previous UPA governments headed by the Congress, raked up Pakistan-based terror and said what Israel is facing today, India suffered from 2004-14 due to the Congress’s “minority vote bank politics.”
At least 700 Israelis and 370 Palestinians have been killed since October 7 in fierce battles and air strikes between Israel and Hamas, as fighters from the Palestinian militant group fired hundreds of missiles and overran military and civilian locations inside Israel, along the border with Gaza, and the Israeli military hit Gaza city with a barrage of missiles and bombs.
At the CWC meeting on Monday, the Congress’s resolution stated the party’s “long-standing support” to the Palestinians.
“..The CWC expresses its dismay and anguish on the war that has broken out in the Middle East where over a thousand people have been killed in the last two days,” the resolution said.
“The CWC reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity and respect. The CWC calls for an immediate cease-fire and for negotiations to begin on all outstanding issues including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict.”
The CWC resolution reiterating the party’s support to Palestinians comes a day after the party MP and general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh in a post on X (formerly Twitter) took a similar position.
Ramesh said that the party condemns the “brutal attacks” on the people of Israel but added that the party has always believed that the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process of dialogue and negotiations while ensuring the legitimate national security interests of the Israeli people.”
Meanwhile, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya lashed out at the CWC resolution and accused the Congress of being “hostage to minority vote bank politics.”
“Congress’s CWC resolution on Israel war is a classic example of how Indian foreign policy was hostage to Congress’s minority vote bank politics, until Modi happened,” Surya said on X.
“Also, a reminder on how quickly things will go back to zero if we aren’t vigilant in 2024.”
BJP has been vocal about the conflict and in its support of Israel and Surya’s position appears to be in line with that. Hours after the violence started on October 7, the BJP had invoked the war between Israel and Palestine to attack the previous UPA governments led by the Congress, and accused the party of not acting on Pakistan based terror and being “weak kneed”.
The party’s X handle shared a video with the caption on October 7 that said: “What Israel is facing today, India suffered between 2004-14. Never forgive, never forget…”
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