Modi must speak up on killing of Iran's Khamenei: Rahul Gandhi
"Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world," Rahul
Amidst the US-Israel-Iran conflict and the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, India's top opposition leader Rahul Gandhi today (3 March) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must answer whether he supports the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order.
"Silence now diminishes India's standing in the world," Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a post on social media platform X.
Rahul also wrote, "While security concerns are real, attacks that violate sovereignty will only worsen the crisis. The unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran's attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned. Violence begets violence -- dialogue and restraint remain the only path to peace."
"India must be morally clear. We should have the courage to speak plainly in defence of international law and human lives. Our foreign policy is rooted in sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes -- and it must remain consistent," he said.
"PM Modi must speak up. Does he support the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order?" Rahul asked.
Rahul's post on the micro-blogging site came hours after his mother and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in a newspaper article published today, criticised the "silence" of the Modi government on the assassination of Khamenei.
She said such a stand "is not neutral but an abdication" and "raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of India's foreign policy."
Sonia, the former Congress president, also demanded that when parliament reconvenes for the second part of the budget session, the government's "disturbing silence" over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion.
