New Delhi, Mar 1: The Congress on Sunday said the government’s response to the war unleashed on Iran has been a betrayal of India’s values, principles and interests, as it claimed that the nation is paying a heavy price for both the substance and style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy.
Taking a swipe at Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said India’s foreign policy under the “self-styled Vishwaguru” stands brutally exposed, notwithstanding all the grandstanding on it by the cheerleaders of the PM, led by himself.
“Modi visited Israel on February 25-26, 2026, at a time when the entire world was aware that a US-Israel military attack on Iran for regime change was imminent. The assault began just two days after Mr. Modi left Israel where his speech to the Knesset was a display of shameful moral cowardice,” Ramesh said on X.
“The Modi government’s response to the war unleashed on Iran that has involved targeted assassinations has been a betrayal of India’s values, principles, concerns, and interests,” he alleged.
Ramesh’s remarks come after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States. State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an air strike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.
In his post on X, Ramesh lashed out at the Modi government’s foreign policy.
“The US President continues his romance with Pakistan, applauding again and again the very man whose inflammatory remarks provided the backdrop to the terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The US has also categorically come out in support of Pakistan’s war on Afghanistan,” he said.
The US President has, at last count, claimed a hundred times that he had intervened to halt Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025 using the threat of increased tariffs on India’s exports to the US, Ramesh said.
“But the PM is completely silent on these assertions of President Trump.The first announcement of the halt to Operation Sindoor was made by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 5:37 PM on May 10, 2025,” he said.
Ramesh further pointed out that on February 2nd, 2026 President Trump declared that – at Prime Mijistrr Modi’s request – the India-US trade deal had been finalised and is coming into effect immediately.
“That this was a desperate move by Mr. Modi who was attempting to divert the headlines from the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi in Parliament is clearly obvious,” he claimed.
“Eighteen days later, the US Supreme Court announced that President Trump’s tariff strategy that formed the foundations of the India-US trade deal was illegal and unconstitutional. This decision was widely expected but Mr. Modi pressured President Trump to sign the trade deal for his own political calculations,” Ramesh said.
“The trade deal itself is now widely acknowledged as being one-sided, with India making firm pledges to significantly liberalise imports (including of agricultural commodities especially) with no corresponding pledges by the US on increased imports from India,” the Congress leader said in his post.
The US has also repeatedly stressed that India has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia but the Modi government has not clarified the commitment given in this regard, Ramesh said.
“Mr. Modi gave a clean chit to China publicly on June 19, 2020. This shocking statement came even as twenty of our brave jawans were martyred on the border in Ladakh. The clean chit greatly weakened our negotiating position and we are now being compelled to normalize relations with China on Chinese terms and conditions,” he said.
“The nation is paying a heavy price for both the substance and style of Mr. Modi’s foreign policy,” Ramesh said.
The Congress on Saturday condemned the attacks launched on Iran by the US and Israel, and called upon the Indian government to help bring the hostilities to an end and ensure the safety of all Indians in the Middle East.
The opposition party expressed concern over the escalating hostilities in the region and urged the government to ensure that all Indians living there are safe.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with Trump calling on the Iranian public to seize control of their destiny and rise up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled their country since 1979. (PTI)
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