Amid the elongating Israel-Hamas tensions, the Congress Working Committee on Monday repeated its long-standing support for Palestinians. The party, which dominated the Indian Independence movement and is having widespread roots within and outside the country, extended its concern over the rights of Palestinian people to live in dignity and respect on their land.
Congress expressed its solidarity to the Palestinian resistance in the CWC meeting and also condemned the brutal attacks on the people of Israel. They have called for an ‘’immediate cease-fire’’, a temporary suspension of the fighting, between the Israeli defence services and the Hamas militant groups. The committee communicated its ‘’dismay and anguish’’ on the war where ‘’a thousand people have been killed in two days’’.
Congress recognised the Palestinian demand to have an independent, self-maintained government, that it is necessary to live in ‘’dignity and respect’’. They called for quick negotiations on all ‘’outstanding issues including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict’’, reads the CWC statement released after the meeting.
नई दिल्ली में हुई बैठक में कांग्रेस कार्य समिति (CWC) का प्रस्ताव: pic.twitter.com/NjiSkUN4B7
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 9, 2023
The statement come a day after the party condemned the ‘’brutal attacks’’ on the people of Israel. MP and Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Congress always believed in the ‘’legitimate aspirations’’ of Palestinian people for self-respect, equality and dignity. ‘’Violence of any type never provides a solution and must stop’’, he said on X (formerly Twitter).
The Indian National Congress condemns the brutal attacks on the people of Israel. The Indian National Congress has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 8, 2023
The party also took to their social media to slam Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he had spoken in support of Israel within nine hours of the beginning of the battle. Congress accused the PM that he took 78 days to speak on the Manipur violence but took less than 10 hours on Israel. ‘’PM Modi’s priority’’, they noted on X.
PM Modi”s priority pic.twitter.com/euPZy9sRLE
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 9, 2023
Meanwhile, the ruling party BJP under the reigning Prime Minister Narendra Modi censured the Congress comment as supporting terror outfits. In a post on X, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in India, Pralhad Joshi, asked how Congress protects ‘’its nation and citizen when it is openly standing with violence’’. Congress is supporting ‘’terror organisations and terrorism while innocent civilians lose their lives to bullets’’, said the minister.
Congress at it again!
Supporting terror organisations and terrorism while innocent civilians lose their lives to bullets. With this stand, the leading party of I.N.D.I alliance has exposed itself to the nation. How will the party protect its nation and citizens when it is… pic.twitter.com/sqPwlmzV0h
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) October 9, 2023
Israel declared a state of war after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an aerial-ground operation from the Gaza strip in the early hours of Saturday morning. The attack was deadly surprise and the operation, named ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Storm’, consisted of a barrage of 3000 rockets and an unprecedented infiltration into the southern part of Israel.