As the government remained tight-lipped on The Hindu ’s report on a major shift being considered in India’s Palestine policy, the Congress on Monday demanded a statement on the issue in Parliament.
Asked about the Congress stand on the government altering India’s supporting vote for the Palestinian cause at the United Nations to one of abstention, Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala: “We would like the government to inform Parliament and tell us outside if there has been a shifting of the goalpost on Palestine.” He pointed out that India’s position on Palestine had not changed for over six decades, irrespective of which government was at the Centre.
Former Congress Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told The Hindu: ``It’s deeply shocking but not unexpected. I condemn it because it introduces communalism into foreign policy. It shows the BJP Government’s justification for a state based on religion. It is a very narrow stand because it has been taken in view of defence ties with Israel...also means we will have to wink at the Israeli bomb which is a major destabilising factor in West Asia...we’re going to lose the friendship and solidarity with the Arab world that was established by Nehru.’’
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said India would be letting down the people of Palestine. “It runs completely against the ethos of our freedom movement and is completely against the consistent position India has taken ever since Independence.”
