In a scathing criticism of the Modi authoritiesCongress Parliamentary Social gathering chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) stated its silence on the focused assassination of Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shouldn’t be impartial however an abdication, and raises critical doubts in regards to the path and credibility of India’s international coverage.
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The previous Congress president additionally demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second a part of the Finances session, the federal government’s “disturbing silence” over the breakdown of worldwide order have to be debated overtly and with out evasion.
In her article revealed in The Indian Specific,Ms. Gandhi stated there’s an pressing want for “us to rediscover” the ethical energy and articulate it with readability and dedication.
“On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Chief, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in focused strikes carried out the day gone by by the USA and Israel. The killing of a sitting head of state within the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in modern worldwide relations,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
But, past the shock of the occasion, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi’s silence, she stated.
The Authorities of India has shunned condemning the assassination or the violation of Iranian sovereignty, she famous.
‘Initially, ignoring the huge US-Israeli onslaught, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) confined himself to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE with out addressing the sequence of occasions that preceded it. Later, he uttered platitudes about his ‘deep concern’ and talked of ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ — which is exactly what was underway earlier than the huge unprovoked assaults launched by Israel and the US,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
“When the focused killing of a international chief attracts no clear protection of sovereignty or worldwide legislation from our nation and impartiality is deserted, it raises critical doubts in regards to the path and credibility of our international coverage,” Ms. Gandhi stated in her article.
Silence, on this occasion, shouldn’t be impartial, she asserted.
Ms. Gandhi identified that the assassination was carried out and not using a formal declaration of struggle and through an ongoing diplomatic course of.
“Article 2 (4) of the United Nations Constitution prohibits the risk or use of power towards the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. A focused killing of a serving head of state strikes on the coronary heart of those rules,” she stated.
If such acts cross with out principled objection from the world’s largest democracy, the erosion of worldwide norms turns into simpler to normalize, she argued.
“The discomfort is compounded by the timing. Barely 48 hours earlier than the assassination, the Prime Minister returned from a go to to Israel, the place he reiterated unambiguous help for the federal government of Benjamin Netanyahu, even because the Gaza battle continues to attract international outrage over the dimensions of civilian casualties, lots of them girls and youngsters,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
At a time when a lot of the World South, together with main powers and India’s companions in BRICS resembling Russia and China, have stored their distance, India’s high-profile political endorsement with out ethical readability marks a visual and troubling departure, she stated.
“The implications of this occasion lengthen past geopolitics. The ripples of this tragedy are seen throughout continents. And India’s stance is signaling tacit endorsement of this tragedy,” she claimed.
Ms. Gandhi identified that the Congress has unequivocally condemned the bombings and focused assassinations on Iranian soil, describing them as a harmful escalation with grave regional and international penalties.
“We’ve got prolonged condolences to the Iranian folks and to Shia communities worldwide, reiterating that India’s international coverage is anchored within the peaceable settlement of disputes, as mirrored in Article 51 of the Structure of India. These rules ‘ sovereign equality, non-intervention and the promotion of peace ‘ have traditionally been integral to India’s diplomatic id. The current reticence, subsequently, seems not merely tactical, however discordant with our acknowledged rules,” she stated.
The current authorities would do properly to do not forget that in April 2001, the then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, throughout an official go to to Tehran, warmly reaffirmed India’s deep ties with Iran, each civilizational and modern, Ms. Gandhi stated.
“His (Vajpayee’s) acknowledgment of these long-standing relations appears to carry no relevance for our present authorities,” she stated.
She additional requested as to why ought to international locations within the World South belief India to defend their territorial integrity tomorrow if it seems hesitant to defend that precept right this moment.
“The suitable discussion board for resolving this dissonance is Parliament. When it reconvenes, this disturbing silence over the breakdown of worldwide order have to be debated overtly and with out evasion,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
The focused killing of a international head of state, the erosion of worldwide norms, and the widening instability in West Asia are usually not peripheral issues; they contact instantly upon India’s strategic pursuits and ethical commitments, she asserted.
“A transparent articulation of India’s place is overdue. Democratic accountability calls for no much less, and strategic readability requires it,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
“India has lengthy invoked the perfect of vasudhaiva kutumbakam ‘ the world is one household. That civilizational ethos shouldn’t be a slogan for ceremonial diplomacy; it implies a dedication to justice, restraint and dialogue, even when doing so is inconvenient.
“At moments when the rules-based order is beneath seen pressure, silence is abdication,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
India has long-aspired to be greater than a regional energy and it has sought to function the conscience-keeper of the world, she stated.
That stature was constructed on a willingness to talk for sovereignty, peace, non-violence and justice even when doing so was inconvenient, she stated.
“At this second, there’s an pressing want for us to rediscover that ethical energy and articulate it with readability and dedication,” Ms. Gandhi stated.
Khamenei was killed in a significant assault by Israel and the US within the early hours of Saturday.
America and Israel launched a significant assault on Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to grab management of their future and rise towards the Islamic management that has dominated their nation since 1979.