New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) The leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hit out at senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday after she attacked the Modi government over its position on the Gaza conflict, maintaining that India takes into account all countries and focuses on “world peace”.

In an opinion article, Gandhi alleged that the BJP-led Centre’s “stony silence” and “inaction” are not just morally reprehensible but also inexplicable from a national interest perspective.

Talking to IANS, BJP leader T.R. Sriniwas said, “Madam Sonia Gandhi, I think, is taking a narrow view of appeasement. What happens if she talks about only Muslims? We talk about the entire world. We talk about world peace. We talk about the cessation of violence across the board and bringing people to the negotiation table so that no issues are left unresolved.”

Urging Gandhi to look from a “broader perspective”, he said, “We cannot blame one party; everybody has a collective responsibility for peace and this is where we stand in this muti-polar world.”

Criticising the senior Congress leader, BJP leader Manmeet Singh said, “Sonia Gandhi has always practiced divisive politics. From Indira Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, they have all engaged in politics of division.”

Shiv Sena spokesperson Shaina NC said, “Maybe Sonia Gandhi isn’t aware that Ministry of External Affairs has appealed through bilateral discussions to maintain peace between both countries (Israel and Palestine)… PM Modi has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza and India has always played a role through diplomatic ties. Maybe Sonia Gandhi has ignored all of this.”

Similarly, JD-U leader Neeraj Kumar told IANS, “India has always extended support to Palestine, we don’t need a certificate from Sonia Gandhi on that.”

“We have had a consensus on India’s foreign policy,” he added.

However, Congress leader Pawan Khera said Sonia Gandhi has written the article with a “heavy heart”.

“This government has distanced India from what its stand used to be on situations like the Palestine issue. The Prime Minister has not yet condemned the killing of innocent children in Gaza by Israel,” he said.

Responding to allegations of vote bank politics against Congress, Khera said, “Does talking about human values have anything to do with votes? Do they think Hindus wouldn’t have felt bad or sad when they saw the sight in Gaza? The heart of a Hindu is full of compassion.”

“Any Hindu who saw it also felt bad. If the Bharatiya Janata Party says that it is being done because of vote bank, I haven’t heard a more shameful and more foolish remark than this,” he told IANS.

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy also backed Gandhi and told IANS, “When America and Israel had attacked Iran, India was silent then too. In Gaza, innocent children were killed, the government should have raised its voice against it.”

–IANS

cg/sd/