The Congress on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for maintaining a “complete silence on the horrific atrocities” in Gaza and claimed that this was “extreme moral cowardice” and a “total betrayal” of everything that India has stood for. “To appease his good friend US President Donald Trump and in solidarity with his other good friend Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Prime Minister Modi has welcomed President Trump’s new 20-point plan for Gaza,” Jairam Ramesh, Congress communication-in-charge, said in a post on X, referring to the US president’s ambitious proposal to bring about peace in Gaza. Ramesh said that some fundamental and disturbing questions on the plan remain. “Where are the people of Gaza themselves in the system of governance proposed? Where is the roadmap for a full-fledged Palestinian state to come into being?” he said. He also asked how much longer the US and Israel would continue to ignore Palestinian statehood, which has already been recognised by 157 member-countries of the UN, with India having led the way in November 1988. “Where is the accountability for the genocide that has been carried out in Gaza over the past 20 months?” he wrote. “The PM has maintained a complete silence on the horrific atrocities that have led to the killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza. This is extreme moral cowardice and a total betrayal of all that India has stood for,” Ramesh said. The Congress has been vocal in criticising the Centre’s stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict. A week ago, after France joined countries like the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote an opinion piece for The Hindu, in which she slammed the Modi government’s position on Palestine. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also emerged as the most vocal voice within the party on the Palestinian cause.
