New Delhi, Mar 19: The BJP on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments on the US-Israel and Iran conflict, calling them “reactive and politically driven”.
It suggested that the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha should learn from his senior colleagues who have adopted a more nuanced and balanced approach to India’s foreign policy in West Asia.
The BJP also alleged that Congress leaders have exposed Gandhi’s “anti-India politics”.
“Congress leaders expose Gandhi! Congress leaders say- ‘India is doing the right thing; India’s stance is correct on West Asian Conflict’. Rahul Gandhi’s anti-India politics are exposed by his own men,” said BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari in a post on X, adding that the LoP chooses to stand against the Indian state during a global conflict.
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “Notably, senior leaders like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari have articulated a more nuanced and responsible view on the issue, underlining the importance of strategic autonomy and diplomatic balance.”
“In contrast, Gandhi’s remarks come across as reactive and politically driven, overlooking the complexities of global geopolitics. Reducing a sensitive international crisis to a domestic political critique risks projecting inconsistency in India’s external posture.
“At a time when measured diplomacy is essential, such statements can appear premature and lacking the depth expected in matters of foreign policy,” he added.
Bhatia further said a mature foreign policy demands restraint, clarity of long-term national interests and an appreciation of geopolitical realities.
“Gandhi would do well to take cues from within his own party and recognise that a mature foreign policy demands restraint, clarity of long-term national interest and an appreciation of geopolitical realities rather than quick political point-scoring,” the spokesperson said.
Bhatia also criticised the Congress for targeting the government for not taking sides in the conflict for short-term political gains.
“The Indian National Congress has often been seen acting against national interest for short-term political gain, and it appears to be doing the same in the Iran–Israel/US conflict. The party has been criticising the government for not taking sides, despite India’s balanced and strategic foreign policy approach,” Bhatia’s post read.
Another BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also targeted Gandhi, claiming that Tharoor and Tewari themselves are contradicting Gandhi’s position on the issue.
Latching on to an article authored by Tharoor in a newspaper, the three spokespersons said Tharoor has endorsed the government’s approach, noting he wrote that India’s silence on the West Asia conflict “is not moral surrender, it is responsible statecraft”.
They also shared a video on X citing remarks by Tewari, in which he is heard saying that “if we are circumspect, I think probably we are doing the right thing, because that is really what strategic autonomy is about — the ability to protect your interests and navigate…”, asserting that such views reflect a more mature understanding of foreign policy.
Poonawalla further questioned Gandhi’s approach to foreign policy.
“Why does Rahul Gandhi put rajniti (politics) above videsh niti (foreign policy). But now Cong leaders have shown him a mirror! Just like in Op Sindoor,” he posted on X.
In an interview with PTI, Tharoor on Thursday said he understands the Indian government’s desire to take a cautious stand on the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran, and hoped that it could make a public call to both sides to end the war quickly.
The former minister of state for external affairs also said that the government should have immediately offered public condolences to Iran over the death of its former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and acted on similar lines as it had done in the aftermath of the demise of then Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in 2024.
