Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi created a stir yesterday when she entered the precincts of Parliament with her handbag sporting a Palestine tag. Her action drew sharp reactions from BJP leaders, who branded it as “crass communal posturing.” Gandhi had earlier condemned Israel’s action as “barbaric and inhuman” in a statement. Criticism followed this, a few hours after she hosted Palestinian diplomat Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer at her residence, who called for India to play a key role in pushing for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana said, “People do such things for news. When they have been rejected by the people, they resort to such actions.” Amit Malviya, IT cell head of BJP alleged Gandhi of “communal virtue signalling” in the name of opposition to patriarchy, and also said, “At the end of this Parliament session, observe a two-minute silence for everyone in the Congress who believed Priyanka Vadra was the solution. Sporting a bag in support of Palestine in Parliament is crass communal posturing.” He also added, “Make no mistake, Congress is the New Muslim League.”
At the end of this Parliament session, observe a two minute silence for everyone in the Congress, who believed Priyanka Vadra was the long-awaited solution, they should have embraced earlier. She is a bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi, who thinks sporting a bag in support of… pic.twitter.com/UHofKVKdei
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 16, 2024
Tell them to do something about the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, talk to the Bangladesh government, and not say stupid things, she fired back in defense.
This summer, she had branded the Israeli military’s actions a “violation of international law” and urged the world community to pressurise Israel into putting an end to the offensive.
India has maintained its stance on the Israel-Palestine issue, which is a two-state solution, supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated India’s commitment to this position during a recent parliamentary session, affirming India’s support for a “sovereign, independent, and viable Palestinian state.” He also clarified that India had supported 10 out of 13 UN resolutions regarding Palestine since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi Carries ‘Palestine’ Bag In Parliament | Pic
India has continuously provided humanitarian aid to Palestine, including 70 metric tonnes of relief supplies and a $5 million contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees.
India has enjoyed excellent diplomatic relations with Palestine, ever since it recognized the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1974 as the first non-Arab country to do so. India opened its first representative office in Gaza in 1996, but was later moved to Ramallah in the West Bank in 2003.
It is no longer enough to speak up for the civilians, mothers, fathers, doctors, nurses, aid workers, journalists, teachers, writers, poets, senior citizens and the thousands of innocent children who are being wiped out day after day by the horrific genocide taking place in Gaza.…
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 26, 2024
The Indian government condemned the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which took the lives of over 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped many others. The Indian government also called for restraint and the protection of civilian lives in Gaza, whose death toll has crossed 40,000.
