Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the Congress Working Committee on Monday (October 9) passed a resolution reiterating its long-standing support for the rights of Palestinians to land, self-government and called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations on outstanding issues.
In a resolution passed at its four-hour-long meeting, the CWC said that it expresses its 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 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 resolution said.
The resolution came a day after the party condemned the attacks on the people of Israel that took place on Saturday (October 7) morning, stating that violence of any kind never provides any solution.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had on Sunday said his party has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine must be fulfilled through dialogue while ensuring the national security interests of the Israelis.
“The Indian National Congress condemns the brutal attacks on the people of Israel,” he said on X.
BJP vs Congress over Palestine issue
Congress leader Rashid Alvi said that the government of India should have had the same approach like it had in the Russia-Ukraine war where India called for the resolution of the conflict through dialogue.
“Whatever is happening is very unfortunate. For the Ukraine-Russia war, Govt of India had the attitude that the war should end and for the Israel-Palestine war also they should have had the same attitude…” he said.
He said that supporting Israel on the matter can lead to deterioration of India’s ties with the Gulf nations.
“Govt of India should have spoken to the US and both countries, civilians are getting killed, and there should be a ceasefire…if we support Israel, our ties with Gulf countries can deteriorate. I don’t understand why is the Govt supporting just one country in this war,” he said.
BJP hits back
BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore hit back at the Congress resolution and said that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of External Affairs to keep the outlook of the country on the matter.
“My thought is that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of External Affairs to keep the outlook of the country through the PMO on that international episode… The problem with Congress is that it moves from the country’s ideas and tries to give its own thought. In the Doklam issue also same thing happened…” he said.
Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented attack by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. At least 700 people have been killed and more than 2,100 injured in Israel — the deadliest day for the country in at least 50 years.
In the Gaza Strip, there are nearly 500 deaths and over 2,000 wounded in Israel’s counterattack, media reports said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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