Nirendra Dev
The Congress is also with implicit faith in Pakistan’s diplomatic relevance.
When Islamabad positioned itself as lead mediator in the US-Iran war — leveraging its ties with both Washington and Tehran — some pro-Rahul Gandhi, Congress voices suggested India was not doing enough by comparison.
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A visible and deepening fault line has opened inside the Indian National Congress over the party’s response to the Iran war and the domestic LPG situation, with at least four senior leaders ....
publicly breaking from the Rahul Gandhi line to praise the Modi government’s handling of both crises.
G4 Praises Mo-diplomacy
As Rahul Gandhi attacks government foreign policy, four senior Congress leaders call India’s West Asia handling “mature, skillful and responsible statecraft”.
While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have maintained a posture of attack against the Centre, former Union Ministers Anand Sharma and Ashwini Kumar, Madhya Pradesh’s former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Kerala MP and former UN Deputy Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, and Punjab MP Manish Tewari have each, in varying degrees, lauded what analysts are now calling “Mo-Diplomacy” — India’s calibrated, non-aligned approach to the West Asia crisis.
The Divide in Plain Sight
The contrast could not be sharper. Rahul Gandhi has called India’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi “compromised.” Tharoor, in direct contradiction, called it “responsible statecraft.” Tewari said the government “is likely doing the right thing.” Anand Sharma, in a series of posts on X, praised India’s diplomatic handling of the crisis as “mature and skilful” and called for national unity.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was quick to amplify the dissent.
“At least these Congress leaders give more importance to national interests than to play politics in time of international crisis,” he posted on X, naming three of them specifically.
Condolence Book and Calibrated Timing
India’s diplomatic response to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei illustrated the government’s careful calibration. Rahul Gandhi had urged the Centre to condemn Khamenei’s killing. India took its time — and when the moment came, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri personally signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi, signalling respect without overreach.
The LPG Flashpoint
The split extended beyond foreign policy to domestic optics. Congress’s central leadership has been hammering the government over a reported LPG shortage. Kamal Nath publicly rejected his own party’s narrative. “There is no such shortage. It is just an atmosphere being created that there is a shortage,” he said.
BJP leaders moved swiftly.
Former Congressman-turned-Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia posted on X: “It is time for the Congress to stop creating fear and distrust among the people to bake their political bread.” BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari went further, calling Rahul Gandhi “an opportunist; Anti-India Man.”
Operation Sindoor: The Pattern Repeats
This is not the first time the Congress has fractured on a national security question. After India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025 — striking terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir — Rahul Gandhi accused the government of lacking political will and suggested the strikes were conducted to protect the Prime Minister’s image rather than deliver a serious blow to terrorism.
Tharoor and Tewari again broke ranks, hailing the operation and the Indian Armed Forces, publicly distancing themselves from Gandhi’s comments. The Modi government subsequently formed a 59-member all-party parliamentary delegation to present India’s position internationally — a move that further isolated Rahul’s narrative.
Pakistan’s Diplomatic Overreach
The Congress leadership’s implicit faith in Pakistan’s diplomatic relevance has also come under scrutiny. When Islamabad positioned itself as lead mediator in the U.S.-Iran war — leveraging its ties with both Washington and Tehran and its stake in securing Strait of Hormuz passage for its oil tankers — some pro-Rahul Congress voices suggested India was not doing enough by comparison.
The gambit collapsed. Iran declined to meet any U.S. delegation on Pakistani soil. Pakistan’s simultaneous defence pact with Saudi Arabia — itself a target of Iranian pressure — left Islamabad having potentially alienated both sides.
The blowback was swift. The UAE, whose ties with Pakistan have been under strain, demanded immediate repayment of a $3.5 billion loan. Geopolitical analyst Daniel Bordman posted on X: “It seems like Pakistan has massively overplayed their hand.” In contrast, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, briefing an all-party meeting, was unambiguous about India’s positioning. India, he asserted, cannot and will not act as a “dalal nation” in geopolitics.
(Courtesy - The Raisina Hills)
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