How the Israel-Hamas war has exposed a divide in Congress

The 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in at least 2,100 deaths on both sides and more than two lakh displaced people, drew varied responses from the Indian political scene. The Congress Working Committee is currently embroiled in controversy after reiterating its support for the Palestinian cause without mentioning the attack. The statement comes despite the fact the Ministry of External Affairs has yet to issue an official statement about it. According to NDTV sources, the Congress statement highlights division in the party with a section of members calling for “condemnation” of the terror attack and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. Here’s what happened. The CWC statement The CWC resolution said, “The CWC expresses its dismay and anguish on the way that has broken out in the Middle East where over a thousand people have been killed in the last two days. The CWC reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government, and to live with dignity and respect. The CWC calls for an immediate cease-fire and for negotiations to begin on all outstanding issues including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict."

The Indian Express cited unnamed sources as saying that the Middle East conflict was not addressed in the resolution. The main purpose of the CWC was to support Rahul Gandhi’s calls for a caste census and the elimination of the 50 per cent quota on reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. The statement also came despite the fact that earlier on Sunday, the party’s communication director Jairam Ramesh had already released a brief statement. He referred to the attack as “brutal” but made no mention of Hamas or terrorism. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Ramesh said, “The Indian National Congress condemns the brutal attacks on the people of Israel. The Indian National Congress has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process of dialogue and negotiations while ensuring the legitimate national security interests of the Israeli people. Violence of any type never provides a solution and must stop.” Many senior leaders claimed that Ramesh’s statement from Sunday was essentially fair and nuanced and that no additional remark was necessary. The trigger The statement, which made up the resolution’s final paragraph, has caused unrest among the party members. A CWC member told The Indian Express, “It is an absurd formulation. It is as if we are condoning the terrorist attack by Hamas. As if we are endorsing terrorism. There will be backlash.” According to the report, at the conclusion of the meeting, senior Keralan leader Ramesh Chennithala, who is regularly invited by the party, insisted that the resolution express solidarity with the Palestinian people in addition to condemning the Hamas attack. The grand old party has supported the Palestinians for quite a long time. After his involvement, sources claim that a few words were quickly written, but they omitted any reference to Hamas or the phrase “terrorism.”

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  Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Kumar Bansal, among others, reportedly raised the issue that Hamas and the word “terrorism” had been omitted from the most recent draft when it was being read aloud at the CWC. Tharoor had told CNN-News18, “If we look at the evolving situation… Congress will come up with more statements… I expect another one soon which does do the condemnation of terror which many of us individually expressed. No one is in favour of terrorism. However, the PM’s statement did not incorporate the larger picture… which is India’s consistent support for the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live secure and decent lives in dignity and on their own land. “Israel has enjoyed that in the last 75 years but Palestinians have been subjected to dehumanising occupation. I fully share the PM’s condemnation of Hamas terrorism. Hamas is just Hamas, it is not the entire Palestinian people… it does not even speak for Palestine. We value Israel and the partnership we have with it, but Palestinians are fully dependent on Israel for everything,” he added. According to Indian Express sources, given the party’s longstanding opposition to terrorism, at least six of the 40 members believed it was appropriate for it to condemn terrorism in all of its forms. However, Kharge had decided that a stand-alone statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict, if necessary, may be released later. He, however, added that the attention should not be drawn away from the CWC’s position on the caste census. The BJP also criticised the Opposition party on Tuesday for failing to mention the terror attack on Israel in its resolution. However, the Congress responded that there are no differences within the party regarding the CWC resolution on Hamas while recalling the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s support for the Palestinian cause, according to NDTV. The party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi told reporters, “It is unfortunate that the BJP is politicising the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution. All of us want Indians to be safe in Israel and Gaza and that they should return home safely. There is no resentment and these are all rumours. It is regrettable that people are doing politics over the Congress resolution…. Whether in Israel or in Gaza, we want Indian citizens to be safe. They should come back, that should be the focus.” He further claimed that the ruling party at the Centre is experiencing an internal uprising as a result of the announcement of the names of the candidates for the elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and is now attempting to divert attention from this internal split by bringing up such topics. “I would like to tell (BJP leader) Kailash Vijayvargiaji that he should remember Vajpayeeji’s speech and analyse what he had said. After the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the BJP is only talking about the Congress and has forgotten its own history as well as Vajpayeeji’s speech,” he said. Gogoi was referring to BJP general secretary Vijayvargia’s tweet which read, “Extremely condemnable. CWC has passed a resolution in support of Palestine regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.” “The Congress has once again passed a resolution taking a decision against national policy and national interest. How low will Congress stoop to to please the people of a particular religion? “Now, the Congress is ready to compromise with terrorism also. We and our party have also been in the opposition but never took any step against the national interest. The Congress’s hand is with terrorism.” BJP’s criticism BJP MP Tejasvi Surya took a dig at Congress ahead of next year’s election and tweeted, “Congress’s CWC resolution on Israel war is a classic example of how Indian foreign policy was hostage to Congress’s minority vote bank politics, until Modi happened… reminder on how quickly things will go back to zero if we aren’t vigilant in 2024.”

The Congress statement also came days after the BJP shared a video montage of terrorist incidents that took place on Indian soil. “What Israel is facing today, India suffered between 2004-14. Never forgive, never forget…” the party said.

It was followed by a second video, in which the BJP compared the Hamas’ attack to the 26/11 terror strikes on Mumbai and declared, “Yesterday, Israel faced a dastardly terror attack, just like Mumbai was targeted on 26/11/2008. Israel has just declared war… What did India, under a weak kneed Congress, do?… senior Congress leaders even absolved Pakistan.”

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the ongoing attack in an unambiguous tweet, by saying, “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.”

The Congress had also pointed out the saffron party by saying PM Modi spoke out about the ethnic violence in Manipur nearly three months later, while he reacted to the Middle East crisis in just nine hours. Notably, There have been calls for a “miracle” from PM Modi amid rumours that India could mediate a peace deal, according to NDTV. “Hamas is not willing to do any negotiation… any peace. Hamas is a terror organisation (like ISIS)… they are killing women, children in a very cold way. If Modi can make this miracle (happen)…” the former head of Israel’s military intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin (retd), told the Delhi-based news channel. Israel-Palestine war Israel appears determined to crush Hamas’ hold on Gaza, following an unprecedented attack in which militants gunned down civilians in their homes, on streets, and at a mass outdoor music festival, while dragging men, women, and children into captivity. The war, which has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza hold about 150 soldiers and civilians hostage, according to Israel. Israel stepped up its offensive on Tuesday, expanding the mobilisation of reservists to 360,000. Israel’s military said it had regained effective control over areas Hamas attacked in its south and of the Gaza border. A looming question is whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza — a 40-kilometer-long (25-mile) strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million people and has been governed by Hamas since 2007. With inputs from agencies