Abstaining from voting on Gaza resolution at UN reversed India’s moral legacy: Congress

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday criticised India’s decision of abstaining from voting on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.The main opposition party called it a dangerous shift from the country’s long-standing foreign policy of non-alignment, moral diplomacy and support for peace and justice.

While 149 countries voted in favour of the resolution, India was among the 19 nations that abstained.

Kharge said India’s foreign policy was now “in shambles” and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take responsibility for the “repeated blunders”.

He said with its abstention, India now stood virtually isolated. “As many as 149 countries voted for the UNGA resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. India was one of the 19 countries that abstained. We virtually stand isolated by this step,” Kharge added.

Echoing Kharge’s remarks, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called India’s UN abstention “shameful and disappointing,”

“This is a tragic reversal of our anti-colonial legacy. In fact, not only are we standing silent as Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu annihilates an entire nation, we are cheering on as his government attacks Iran and assassinates its leadership in flagrant violation of its sovereignty and complete contravention of all international norms,” she said.