‘Self-boasts, silence on US’: Congress attacks PM Modi over West Asia remarks | India News

New Delhi: Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi On Monday, the prime minister was severely attacked Narendra ModiClaiming that he is “uncompromising” and cannot take part in a parliamentary debate, West criticized his recent speech on the Asian conflict.Speaking at a tribal rights convention in Vadodara, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the prime minister avoided naming the US in his Lok Sabha address and said he was “100% under the control” of US President Donald Trump.“I heard that the Prime Minister gave a 25 minute speech. But I guarantee that he will not be able to participate in the debate in Parliament because he is compromised. Narendra Modi spoke for 25 minutes but did not say a single word against America. Narendra Modi is 100% under Trump’s control,” PM.Rahul Gandhi has also criticized the government’s trade policy, claiming it will hurt Indian farmers.“Narendra Modi has opened India’s agriculture sector to America through a trade deal. Here, we have small farms, where in America there are big farms spread over thousands of acres. Here people work by hand and there by big machines. If American products start coming to India, our farmers will be destroyed,” said Rahul Gandhi.He accused the BJP and RSS of undermining tribal rights, alleging that the term “banvasi” was being used to blur the tribal identity.“Adivasi means the original inhabitants of India — the rightful owner of this land, water and forest (‘jal-jungal-zamin’). But the RSS-BJP has introduced a new term — ‘banvasi’, which implies that you only live in the forest, you are not the rightful owner of these resources. Narendra Modi and BJP leaders sit with folded hands in front of Birsa Munda’s statue, but they attack the very idea for which Birsa Munda fought and died a martyr. When the BJP takes away land, water and forest from tribals, it is an attack not only on Birsa Munda but also on the Constitution,” he said.The comments came after Prime Minister Modi addressed the Lok Sabha on the ongoing West Asian conflict, describing the situation as “alarming” and outlining its economic, security and humanitarian implications for India.Congress leaders also criticized the Prime Minister’s speech. Questioning the motive behind the speech, party leader Pawan Khera said, “… perhaps the speech was given with the upcoming elections in mind… The first question is, why did you go to Israel? We were hoping to get an answer to that. The hope was that the Prime Minister would promise that the prices of LNG, LPG, petrol or diesel would not increase even after the elections are over...”Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also hit out at the Prime Minister, accusing her of failing to condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and calling her speech a “master class in self-conceit and biased dialogue”.“The Prime Minister’s unusually brief speech in the Lok Sabha today was, as usual, a master class in self-conceit, cowardice and biased dialogue-baji (dramatic dialogue). Not a word was uttered to condemn the continued US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries and the Strait of Hormuz are certainly, totally unacceptable – but so is Iran’s relentless bombing campaign aimed at regime change and state collapse,” wrote Ramesh X-A.Responding to Modi’s reference to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramesh added, “Finally, the Prime Minister has been called out on the Covid-19 pandemic. His government’s response was uniquely disastrous. The nation cannot forget the deeply depressing scenes that had become so common then – millions of migrants walking on their bare feet, thousands of homes shriveled. Millions unemployed. We can only hope there will be more preparations this time.“In his address, the prime minister said the conflict posed “unprecedented challenges” for India, especially given its dependence on the region for crude oil and gas and its importance to global trade routes.“This war has also created unprecedented challenges for India. These challenges are economic, national security related and also humanitarian. India has extensive trade relations with warring and war-torn countries. The region where this war is taking place is also an important route for our trade with the rest of the world. In particular, a large part of our crude oil and gas demand is met by this region,” he said.He added that the government has prioritized domestic LPG consumers amid supply uncertainty and is working to ensure uninterrupted availability of petrol and diesel, noting that India has strategic petroleum reserves of over 5.3 million metric tonnes.The prime minister’s statement came amid heightened tensions in West Asia following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, which triggered Iran’s retaliatory offensive and blocked key sea routes including the Strait of Hormuz.