Priyanka carries bag with 'Palestine' tag, draws BJP ire

In a show of support for the people of Palestine, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday carried a bag to Parliament that had 'Palestine' emblazoned on it.

The Congress general secretary has been raising her voice against Israel's actions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.

Gandhi was seen carrying a handbag emblazoned with the word 'Palestine' and Palestinian emblems, including a watermelon -- seen as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.

It elicited multiple reactions from across the political spectrum, the BJP in particular.

Hitting out at the Wayanad MP over the issue, BJP MP Anurag Thakur wondered what message she wanted to send across.

“She did not speak a word on the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh but wants to make a fashion statement with the Palestine bag,” he claimed.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also slammed Priyanka, terming Congress as “the New Muslim League”.

“At the end of this Parliament session, observe a two minute silence for everyone in the Congress, who believed Priyanka Vadra was the long-awaited solution, they should have embraced earlier. She is a bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi, who thinks sporting a bag in support of Palestine in the Parliament, is about fighting patriarchy. That is right. Crass communal virtue signaling to Muslims is now cloaked as stance against patriarchy! Make no mistake, Congress is the New Muslim League”, he said in a post on X.

BJP MP and party spokesperson Sambit Patra also took strong exception to her symbolism.

Asked about BJP leaders raising the 'Palestine' bag issue, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Tell them that they should do something about the atrocities that are happening on minorities -- Hindus and Christians -- in Bangladesh. Talk to the Bangladesh government and stop these atrocities.”

Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, the Charge d'affaires of the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi, last week called on Gandhi to congratulate the Congress leader on her recent Lok Sabha bypoll victory.

In June, Gandhi slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over what she had said were the Israel government's “genocidal actions” in Gaza, as she accused him and his government of “barbarism”.

The Congress general secretary's remarks had come after Netanyahu defended Israel's ongoing war in Gaza in a speech to the US Congress.

Gandhi had said it was no longer enough to speak up for the civilians, mothers, fathers, doctors, nurses, aid workers, journalists, teachers, writers, poets, senior citizens and the thousands of innocent children who were being wiped out day after day by the “horrific genocide” taking place in Gaza.