Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the way he handled the West Asia conflict. Amid reports of Pakistan allegedly facilitating talks between Iran and the US, the Congress leader alleged that PM Modi will follow the orders of the US and Israel.
Strongly criticizing the foreign policy of the Indian government, Gandhi said that the Prime Minister is not working in the interest of the country. Commenting on the all-party meeting to be held on the West Asia crisis, he said that he would not be able to attend the meeting due to a program in Kerala.
“I have a program in Kerala, so I will not be able to attend. There should have been an all-party meeting, but there is a structural flaw… and it cannot be rectified, especially when the Prime Minister cannot do it. They will do what America says and will not work in the interest of farmers and the country. They will do what America and Israel say,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Indian government has called an all-party meeting on March 25 (Wednesday) at 5 pm to discuss the West Asia crisis. Earlier, the White House had rejected speculations about US-Iran talks being held in Pakistan. White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt said that “no meeting should be considered final until an official announcement is made,” and stressed that the US would not negotiate through the press in such a volatile diplomatic situation.
He said, “These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a dynamic situation, and speculation about the meetings should not be considered final until they are formally announced by the White House.”
Meanwhile, the conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, severely disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. These tensions escalated after the death of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint US and Israeli military strikes on February 28. Following the joint military strikes, Iran retaliated by targeting Israeli and US bases in several Gulf countries, causing further damage to the waterway. More disruption occurred and international energy markets as well as global economic stability were affected.
