New Delhi: Lashing out at the Congress for wanting India to “blindly side with Iran”, the BJP on Thursday said the country’s foreign policy must be guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens not by the compulsions of the opposition party’s “outdated ideological reflexes”.
Several BJP leaders, including Amit Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari, spoke on the issue, calling the Congress “anti-India” and alleging that the main Opposition party pursues divisive politics. It only loves its vote bank, not the country and its people, the ruling party said.
“Even China, which spent years diplomatically shielding Iran, overlooking its support for proxy terror groups and buying the bulk of its oil, is now distancing itself from Tehran,” Malviya said in a post on X.
“Yet the Indian National Congress wants India to blindly side with Iran, even as it continues reckless actions across the Gulf, threatens vital oil shipping routes, and escalates tensions in a region where millions of Indians live and work,” the BJP’s IT department head said.
India’s foreign policy, Malviya added, must be “guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens, not by the compulsions of Congress’ outdated ideological reflexes”.
A day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka’s coast, the Congress on Thursday questioned the government’s silence with Rahul Gandhi saying that while the country needed a steady hand at the wheel, it has a “compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy”.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government’s “reckless abdication” of India’s strategic and national interests is there for all to see.
“An Iranian ship, a guest of India was returning, unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026, hosted by us, and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). No statement of concern or condolence. PM Modi remains mute,” Kharge said on X.
“Why lecture us on the doctrines of MAHASAGAR and India being a ‘Net Security Provider’ in the IOR, when you can’t react on what is happening in your own backyard?...,” he said.
“Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar have reportedly died. Why is there no maritime rescue or relief operation in place?... “ the Congress chief said.
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing,” Gandhi said on X.
At a moment like this, India needs a steady hand at the wheel, he said.
“Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy,” Gandhi alleged.