Israel-Palestine Issue Divides Indian Political Parties Ahead of Polls: Experts
The Israel-Hamas war has triggered a massive political controversy in India, where key electoral battles are scheduled in November as five states head to the polls months ahead of the 2024 general elections.
SputnikThe intense war between Israel and Hamas has also flared up debate in India as political parties in the country have taken a divided stance on the issue.
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Indian government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has extended its support to Israel, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemning the “terrorist” attack perpetrated by Hamas and expressing solidarity with Israel. Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress passed a resolution supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.
However, while clarifying the Indian government's stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said: "India has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing the sovereign state of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders side by side with Israel, and this position remains the same".
Congress passed the resolution during its working committee meeting on 10 October, where it expressed “dismay and anguish” over the
Israel-Hamas conflict and extended support for the rights of the Palestinian people.
Denouncing the statement, the BJP accused Congress of supporting Hamas, terrorism, and being a “hostage to minority vote bank politics”.
BJP lawmaker Tejasvi Surya said: “Congress's CWC resolution on the Israel war is a classic example of how Indian foreign policy was hostage to Congress's minority vote bank politics, until Modi happened”.
Meanwhile, BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargia said that the resolution in support of Palestine amid the ongoing
war between Israel and Hamas is “extremely condemnable”.
“The Congress has once again passed a resolution taking a decision against national policy and national interest. How low will the Congress stoop to please the people of a particular religion? Now, the Congress is ready to compromise with terrorism also. We and our party have also been in the opposition but never took any step against national interest. The Congress's hand is with terrorism”, the BJP politician said in a tweet.
Apart from this, several media reports quoting sources said that there is division within the party over the resolution, as the section on the Israel-Hamas war was not well-received by all those at the CWC meeting.
However, Congress defended its resolution and said that there are no differences in the party over the ongoing conflict. The party further stated that it is unfortunate that the
BJP is politicising the resolution.
Speaking on the issue with the media, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) Gaurav Gogoi said: “There is no resentment and these are all rumours. It is regrettable that people are doing politics over the Congress resolution... Whether in Israel or in Gaza, we want Indian citizens to be safe. They should come back, that should be the focus”.
Gogoi alleged that the BJP is trying to divert the attention of people from the internal rift it is facing in the poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan over ticket distribution.
The Congress politician also asked BJP politicians to remember the stance taken by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Notably, Vajpayee, who was the prime minister of the BJP-led federal government from 1999 to 2004, favoured the cause of the Palestinian people on numerous occasions.
Amid the political slugfest over the current Israel-Palestine conflict, Sputnik India reached out to experts to understand whether the stance of the political parties is poll-driven, and what impact this might have on the upcoming state assembly elections and 2024 parliamentary poll.
How Experts See India’s Stance on Israel-Hamas War
Political expert Vinod Shukla told Sputnik India that first of all, one should understand that the Indian government has very cleverly extended support to Israel on the basis of terrorism, meanwhile the Congress seems to have misunderstood the whole situation and in its resolution only expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“I feel that India is very much right to stand against terrorism because they way Hamas militants have attacked Israel is not justified, because if there are some issues, they should be discussed and negotiated. This is the reason why Israel’s retaliation is not being seen in a wrong way by most of the countries, including India”, Shukla stated.
Meanwhile, another political expert, Prem Kumar, said that it seems like India has maintained a balanced approach, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet never named Hamas, but simply expressed solidarity with Israel.
“Modi’s statement should be seen in a way that India stands with Israel and is against Palestine. Therefore, we can say that Hamas gave India an opportunity to break the neutrality that it was maintaining till now. So, the stand by Indian government is still balanced”, Kumar said.
He, however, feels that the PM should have taken the same stance which he adopted during the Russia-Ukraine conflict and urged for a peaceful solution. “In his tweet over Israel-Hamas war, he didn’t say a single word on peaceful solution of the conflict”, Kumar stated.
Divided Stance is Poll-Driven
Shukla opined that the stance seems to be poll-driven, as Congress, through its stance, is trying to woo Muslim votes in poll-bound states, especially Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
“The party is getting positive response in both the states and if the trend continues then it might be able to get good results in polls”, he said, while adding that the BJP-led federal government has supported Israel, keeping terrorism at the forefront which showcases that India stands for a larger cause.
Meanwhile, Kumar opines that sometimes global issues are used in the internal politics, but for now, the political parties in India are not using it, keeping aside the national interest. Rather, they are trying to connect the emotions of two different streams – Israel and Palestine – with the emotions in the country.
Although he said that this will surely have an impact on those who will be voting in the upcoming state assembly polls as well as parliamentary elections, as it is being showcased in such a way that if the Muslim population will increase, then India might also have to witness a gruesome attack like Hamas carried out on Israel and demand for a Hindu nation will increase.
“Meanwhile, Congress is just trying to give a message to Indian Muslims that it is standing for the rights of Muslims but it has to understand that it can’t support Hamas”, Kumar said.