In a scathing criticism of the Modi government, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) mentioned its silence on the targeted assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei isn’t impartial however an abdication, and raises critical doubts concerning the path and credibility of India’s international coverage.
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The former Congress president additionally demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second a part of the Budget session, the federal government’s “disturbing silence” over the breakdown of worldwide order have to be debated overtly and with out evasion.
In her article revealed in a outstanding newspaper, Ms. Gandhi wrote that there’s an pressing want for “us to rediscover” the ethical energy and articulate it with readability and dedication.
“On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel. The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations,” Ms. Gandhi mentioned.
Yet, past the shock of the occasion, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi’s silence, she mentioned.
The Government of India has kept away from condemning the assassination or the violation of Iranian sovereignty, she famous.
‘Initially, ignoring the huge US-Israeli onslaught, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) confined himself to condemning Iran’s retaliatory strike on the UAE with out addressing the sequence of occasions that preceded it. Later, he uttered platitudes about his ‘deep concern’ and talked of ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ — which is exactly what was underway earlier than the huge unprovoked assaults launched by Israel and the US,” Ms. Gandhi said.
“When the focused killing of a international chief attracts no clear defence of sovereignty or worldwide legislation from our nation and impartiality is deserted, it raises critical doubts concerning the path and credibility of our international coverage,” Ms. Gandhi said in her article.
Silence, in this instance, is not neutral, she asserted.
Ms. Gandhi pointed out that the assassination was carried out without a formal declaration of war and during an ongoing diplomatic process.
“Article 2 (4) of the United Nations Charter prohibits the risk or use of pressure in opposition to the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. A focused killing of a serving head of state strikes on the coronary heart of those rules,” she said.
If such acts pass without principled objection from the world’s largest democracy, the erosion of international norms becomes easier to normalise, she argued.
“The unease is compounded by the timing. Barely 48 hours earlier than the assassination, the Prime Minister returned from a go to to Israel, the place he reiterated unequivocal assist for the federal government of Benjamin Netanyahu, even because the Gaza battle continues to attract world outrage over the size of civilian casualties, lots of them ladies and kids,” Ms. Gandhi said.
At a time when much of the Global South, along with major powers and India’s partners in BRICS such as Russia and China, have kept their distance, India’s high-profile political endorsement without moral clarity marks a visible and troubling departure, she said.
“The penalties of this occasion lengthen past geopolitics. The ripples of this tragedy are seen throughout continents. And India’s stance is signalling tacit endorsement of this tragedy,” she claimed.
Ms. Gandhi pointed out that the Congress has unequivocally condemned the bombings and targeted assassinations on Iranian soil, describing them as a dangerous escalation with grave regional and global consequences.
“We have prolonged condolences to the Iranian folks and to Shia communities worldwide, reiterating that India’s international coverage is anchored within the peaceable settlement of disputes, as mirrored in Article 51 of the Constitution of India. These rules ‘ sovereign equality, non-intervention and the promotion of peace ‘ have traditionally been integral to India’s diplomatic identification. The current reticence, subsequently, seems not merely tactical, however discordant with our said rules,” she said.
The present government would do well to remember that in April 2001, the then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during an official visit to Tehran, warmly reaffirmed India’s deep ties with Iran, both civilisational and contemporary, Ms. Gandhi said.
“His (Vajpayee’s) acknowledgement of these long-standing relations appears to carry no relevance for our present authorities,” she said.
She further asked as to why should countries in the Global South trust India to defend their territorial integrity tomorrow if it appears hesitant to defend that principle today.
“The acceptable discussion board for resolving this dissonance is Parliament. When it reconvenes, this disturbing silence over the breakdown of worldwide order have to be debated overtly and with out evasion,” Ms. Gandhi said.
The targeted killing of a foreign head of state, the erosion of international norms, and the widening instability in West Asia are not peripheral matters; they touch directly upon India’s strategic interests and moral commitments, she asserted.
“A transparent articulation of India’s place is overdue. Democratic accountability calls for no much less, and strategic readability requires it,” Ms. Gandhi said.
“India has lengthy invoked the best of vasudhaiva kutumbakam ‘ the world is one household. That civilisational ethos isn’t a slogan for ceremonial diplomacy; it implies a dedication to justice, restraint and dialogue, even when doing so is inconvenient.
“At moments when the rules-based order is under visible strain, silence is abdication,” Ms. Gandhi mentioned.
India has long-aspired to be greater than a regional energy and it has sought to function the conscience-keeper of the world, she mentioned.
That stature was constructed on a willingness to talk for sovereignty, peace, non-violence and justice even when doing so was inconvenient, she mentioned.
“At this moment, there is an urgent need for us to rediscover that moral strength and articulate it with clarity and commitment,” Ms. Gandhi mentioned.
Khamenei was killed in a serious assault by Israel and the U.S. within the early hours of Saturday.
The United States and Israel launched a serious assault on Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to grab management of their future and rise in opposition to the Islamic management that has dominated their nation since 1979.
