The Congress party has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his historic address to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, accusing him of severely diminishing India’s long-standing moral authority on the global stage. In a formal statement issued shortly after the session in Jerusalem, senior Congress leaders argued that the Prime Minister’s speech failed to maintain the delicate balance that has traditionally defined India’s foreign policy in the Middle East. The opposition party expressed deep disappointment that while the Prime Minister rightly condemned terrorism, he allegedly chose to overlook the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the historical rights of the Palestinian people, which India has supported for decades.
According to the Congress, the Prime Minister’s “one-sided” rhetoric signals a departure from the principled neutrality established by former Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Party spokespersons claimed that by tilting so heavily toward the Israeli narrative, the current government has risked alienating traditional allies in the Arab world and has weakened India’s position as a potential mediator for peace. The opposition emphasized that a leader of a nation of 1.4 billion people should have used such a prestigious platform to call for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of innocent lives on both sides of the conflict, rather than focusing almost exclusively on strategic and defense ties.
Furthermore, the Congress criticized the “over-the-top” personal chemistry displayed between PM Modi and PM Netanyahu, suggesting that foreign policy should be built on institutional values rather than individual optics. They argued that the symbolic gestures, such as the exchange of medals and the use of traditional attire, served as a distraction from the complex ethical questions surrounding the regional conflict. The party reiterated its stance that India’s true strength lies in its moral courage to speak truth to power and uphold international law. By failing to mention the two-state solution clearly during his address, the Congress alleged that PM Modi has effectively narrowed India’s strategic autonomy and moral leadership in a rapidly changing world order.
