Veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has criticised the Narendra Modi government for remaining silent over the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it “not neutrality, but abdication.” In a column for The Indian Express, Gandhi said the government’s reticence raises serious questions about India’s foreign policy credibility and its ability to act from principle rather than expediency.
“Silence is Not Neutrality”
Gandhi highlighted that Khamenei was killed in targeted strikes allegedly carried out by the United States and Israel on February 28, during ongoing diplomatic negotiations. She said New Delhi’s response — limited to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the UAE and issuing general calls for dialogue — falls short of defending international law or sovereignty.
“When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country,” Gandhi wrote, “it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy. Silence in this case is abdication, not balance.”
She warned that the assassination, carried out without a declaration of war, undermines global norms. “If such acts pass without principled objection from the world’s largest democracy, the erosion of international norms risks becoming routine,” Gandhi said.
Historical and Strategic Ties with Iran
The Congress leader emphasised India’s long-standing civilisational and strategic ties with Iran. She recalled Tehran’s support in 1994 in blocking attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue and noted Iran’s role in facilitating India’s diplomatic presence in Zahedan, near the Pakistan border, as a counterbalance to China-Pakistan economic initiatives.
“In April 2001, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee warmly reaffirmed India’s deep ties with Iran,” Gandhi wrote, adding that such balanced engagement seems diminished today.
Balancing Relations with Israel
Gandhi also acknowledged India’s growing ties with Israel in defence, technology, and agriculture. “It is precisely because India maintains relations with both Tehran and Tel Aviv that it possesses the diplomatic space to urge restraint,” she said. “Such space depends on credibility. Credibility flows from principle, not expediency.”
She noted that Modi had returned from Israel just 48 hours before Khamenei’s assassination, where he expressed strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as the Gaza conflict drew global criticism for civilian casualties.
Strategic Implications for India and the Global South
Pointing to the 10 million Indians living and working across the Gulf region, Gandhi said India’s ability to protect its citizens relies on its reputation as an independent actor. She questioned: “Why should countries in the Global South trust India to defend their territorial integrity tomorrow if it hesitates to defend the same principle today?”
Gandhi argued that India’s traditional ideal of vasudhaiva kutumbakam — the world is one family — is not merely symbolic but a call for justice, restraint, and dialogue, even when inconvenient. She concluded: “At a moment when the rules-based global order appears visibly strained, silence is abdication. India must rediscover the moral strength that once defined its voice.”
Parliamentary Debate Urged
The Congress leader urged the government’s response to be debated in Parliament during the second part of the Budget session, calling the issue crucial not only for India’s strategic interests but also for its global credibility and moral leadership.
