"PM's silence on atrocities in Gaza 'total betrayal' of what India has stood for", alleges Congress

The Congress on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is maintaining a complete silence on the "horrific atrocities" in Gaza and this is "moral cowardice" and "total betrayal" of all that India has stood for. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote, "To appease his good friend President Trump and in solidarity with his other good friend Bibi Netanyahu, Prime Minister Modi has welcomed President Trump's new 20-point plan for Gaza." But fundamental and disturbing questions on the plan remain, he said.b"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," the Congress leader asked. He also asked how much longer will the US and Israel 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 twenty 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 questioning the silence of the Modi government on "atrocities" in Gaza. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) last week also expressed "profound distress" over the ongoing "genocide" of innocent civilians in Gaza, and said India has always been a beacon of moral conscience but "has now shamefully been reduced to a silent spectator". "India has always been a beacon of moral conscience and the champion of the post-colonial world, it has now shamefully been reduced to a silent spectator. Our foreign policy has now acquired a moral taint," the CWC resolution said. Modi on Tuesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza conflict, saying that it provides a viable path to long-term peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as well as the larger West Asian region. In an X post after Trump announced the plan in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi expressed hope that "all concerned will come together behind President Trump's initiative and support this effort to end conflict and secure peace." Trump and Netanyahu said on Monday that they have agreed on a plan to end the war in Gaza, but it is unclear whether Hamas will accept the terms. Trump had laid out the 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and establish a temporary governing board in the war-battered Palestinian territory, which would be headed by Trump and include former British prime minister Tony Blair.