Sonia Gandhi Condemns Modi Government's Foreign Policy Stance
Senior Indian Congress leader and former party president Sonia Gandhi has launched a scathing critique of the Narendra Modi-led Indian government, accusing it of a complete surrender of India's independent foreign policy. In a strongly worded opinion piece published in an Indian daily, Gandhi lambasted the administration for prioritizing subservience to Israel while betraying long-standing strategic ties with Iran.
Silence on Key International Incidents
Gandhi specifically condemned New Delhi's "disturbing silence" and "muted responses" following the recent targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes. She termed this reticence not as neutrality but as an "abdication" and a "grave betrayal" of India's traditional balanced approach in West Asia, signaling what she described as a cowardly retreat from principled diplomacy.
Historical Context and Strategic Interests
Gandhi highlighted that India's historical foreign policy has carefully maintained parity between Israel and Iran, rooted in civilizational links and mutual strategic interests with Tehran. She pointed out that Iran has facilitated India in key projects such as the Chabahar Port and Zahedan connectivity, which have significantly bolstered regional access and economic cooperation.
Critique of Modi Government's Actions
"By making high-profile visits to Israel without a balancing engagement with Iran, and now remaining conspicuously silent on the assassination of a sitting head of state, the Modi government has shredded decades of cautious parity," Gandhi wrote. She argued that this one-sided alignment exposes India as prioritizing political optics, defense deals with Israel, and alignment with pro-Western powers over national interest and moral clarity.
Questions on Global Credibility
The Congress leader further noted that New Delhi's initial response focused solely on condemning Iran's retaliatory actions while ignoring the preceding unprovoked attacks, raising serious questions about India's credibility on the global stage. "When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy," Ms. Gandhi stated in her article.
Isolation and Moral Cowardice
She described the current posture as "moral cowardice," leaving India isolated among Global South nations and BRICS partners like Russia and China, who have adopted more measured stances emphasizing sovereignty and de-escalation. Gandhi further questioned why countries in the Global South should trust India to defend their territorial integrity tomorrow if it appears hesitant to defend that principle today.
Call for Parliamentary Debate
The former Congress president also demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget session, the government's "disturbing silence" over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion. This call underscores her push for greater accountability and transparency in India's foreign policy decisions.
