New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday lambasted the Modi government asserting that its silence on the targeted assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei constitutes not neutrality but an abdication of duty, casting serious doubts on the trajectory and integrity of India’s foreign policy.
The former Congress president called for an open debate in Parliament during the second phase of the Budget session, insisting that the government’s “disturbing silence” over the collapse of international norms demands transparent discussion without evasion.
In her article published in The Indian Express, Sonia emphasized the pressing requirement to “rediscover” India’s moral fortitude and express it with unambiguous resolve.
“On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel. The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations,” she wrote.
Sonia highlighted that New Delhi’s reticence stands out as prominently as the assassination itself.
The Indian government has abstained from denouncing the assassination or the breach of Iranian sovereignty, she observed.
“Initially, ignoring the massive US-Israeli onslaught, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) confined himself to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE without addressing the sequence of events that preceded it. Later, he uttered platitudes about his ‘deep concern’ and talked of ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ — which is precisely what was underway before the massive unprovoked attacks launched by Israel and the US,” Sonia stated.
“When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy,” she added.
She maintained that such silence is far from neutral.
Sonia underscored that the assassination was carried out without a formal declaration of war and during active diplomacy.
“Article 2 (4) of the United Nations Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. A targeted killing of a serving head of state strikes at the heart of these principles,” she wrote.
Should such violations evade principled rebuke from the world’s largest democracy, the degradation of global standards will accelerate, she contended.
“The unease is compounded by the timing. Barely 48 hours before the assassination, the Prime Minister returned from a visit to Israel, where he reiterated unequivocal support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, even as the Gaza conflict continues to draw global outrage over the scale of civilian casualties, many of them women and children,” Sonia wrote.
While much of the Global South, alongside key powers and India’s BRICS allies like Russia and China, maintains distance, India’s prominent endorsement without moral clarity marks a conspicuous and disconcerting shift, she argued.
“The consequences of this event extend beyond geopolitics. The ripples of this tragedy are visible across continents. And India’s stance is signalling tacit endorsement of this tragedy,” she asserted.
The Congress has forthrightly condemned the Iranian bombings and assassinations as perilous escalations with profound regional and worldwide ramifications, Sonia recalled.
“We have extended condolences to the Iranian people and to Shia communities worldwide, reiterating that India’s foreign policy is anchored in the peaceful settlement of disputes, as reflected in Article 51 of the Constitution of India. These principles ‘ sovereign equality, non-intervention and the promotion of peace ‘ have historically been integral to India’s diplomatic identity. The present reticence, therefore, appears not merely tactical, but discordant with our stated principles,” she said.
Sonia reminded the current administration of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s April 2001 Tehran visit, where he warmly affirmed India’s enduring civilizational and modern bonds with Iran.
“His (Vajpayee’s) acknowledgement of those long-standing relations seems to hold no relevance for our current government,” she remarked.
She questioned why Global South nations should rely on India to safeguard their sovereignty in the future if it falters today.
“The appropriate forum for resolving this dissonance is Parliament. When it reconvenes, this disturbing silence over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion,” Sonia urged.
The assassination of a head of state, erosion of international norms, and escalating West Asian instability directly impinge on India’s strategic priorities and ethical obligations, she stressed.
“A clear articulation of India’s position is overdue. Democratic accountability demands no less, and strategic clarity requires it,” she declared.
“India has long invoked the ideal of vasudhaiva kutumbakam ‘ the world is one family. That civilisational ethos is not a slogan for ceremonial diplomacy; it implies a commitment to justice, restraint and dialogue, even when doing so is inconvenient.
“At moments when the rules-based order is under visible strain, silence is abdication,” Sonia wrote.
India has historically positioned itself beyond regional influence, aspiring to serve as the world’s moral compass, she observed.
That prestige rests on resolute advocacy for sovereignty, peace, non-violence, and justice, regardless of expediency, she added.
“At this moment, there is an urgent need for us to rediscover that moral strength and articulate it with clarity and commitment,” she concluded.
Khamenei was killed in a major US-Israel strike in the wee hours of Saturday.
