"Centre's foreign policy is against decade-old policy followed by India": Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

The senior Congress leader's remarks came while addressing the party's event to express solidarity with the people of Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Kozhikode.

"The Modi government's foreign policy is against the decade-old policy followed by India. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on the humanitarian truce in the Israel-Gaza war. Mahatma Gandhi's country did not vote for it. We abstained from voting," he added.

Responding to the allegations that Congress is remaining tight-lipped on the Israel-Palestine issue due to ongoing election campaigns, Tharoor said that the party released an opinion piece last month, and Priyanka Gandhi also spoke about the same during the election campaign.

"There is an accusation that Congress is not talking about the Israel-Palestine issue because Assembly elections are being held. I want to clarify that during the election campaign, Sonia Gandhi released an opinion piece on the Israel-Palestine war on October 30, and Priyanka Gandhi also spoke about the issue during the election campaign," he said.

Earlier in October, the party passed a resolution during its Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting that supported the rights of the Palestinian people.

"The CWC expresses its dismay and anguish on the war that has broken out in the Middle East where over a thousand people have been killed in the last two days. The CWC reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity and respect," the resolution passed by the Congress said.

It further said that the CWC calls for an "immediate cease-fire and for negotiations" to begin on all outstanding issues including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict.

Meanwhile, speaking at the party's event, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said, "Our resolution says that we are with Palestine. We need to support the negotiations to free Palestine. India did not vote on the UN resolution for a truce that could lead to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war."

Last month, India abstained from voting on a resolution tabled by Jordan in the United Nations that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Canada proposed an amendment to the resolution drafted by Jordan, which originally called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip but did not condemn terror organisation Hamas.

India voted in favour of Canada's proposed amendment along with 87 other nations. However, it could not be adopted as it did not have a two-thirds majority.

The Jordanian-led draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, with 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions. The 45 nations that abstained from voting on the resolution included Iceland, India, Panama, Lithuania and Greece.

The adoption of the Jordanian resolution was the first formal response of the United Nations to the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine since the Hamas terror attacks of 7 October. (ANI)