The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday questioned the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s refusal to allow a resolution to be passed by the Rajya Sabha expressing solidarity with Palestine soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signed and endorsed a Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) Declaration supporting the Palestinian cause.
Writing about the standoff on the issue in Parliament in an editorial in party mouthpiece People’s Democracy , the CPI(M) said, “In a move that is tantamount to disapproving the Indian PM’s approval of the [BRICS] Declaration, the Bharatiya Janata Party/NDA refused to allow Parliament to adopt this very text as a unanimous resolution.”
Detailing the back-room negotiations to break the deadlock, the editorial stated that the CPI(M) had suggested that the relevant paragraph from the Joint Declaration at BRICS be reproduced in toto to constitute the text of a resolution by Parliament as this had already been signed and endorsed by the Prime Minister. “Strangely, the BJP refused to even accept this despite the fact that its own leader as the Prime Minister of India has approvingly put his signature on this declaration!”
Urging Indians to stand with the Palestinians in their struggle, the CPI(M) called for mounting pressure on the government to immediately stop India’s purchase of Israeli defence equipment. “India is the world’s largest buyer of Israeli armaments. India must, thus, stop financing this Israeli aggression on Gaza through such profits it provides Israel through armament purchases.”
