As India on Friday (October 27) abstained from voting at the UN General Assembly on the Gaza crisis, the Indian oppositions leaders found an opportunity to attack the BJP-led government at the centre. Congress leader and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi all rushed to accuse the Indian government of not taking a clear stand on the Israel-Hamas war at the United Nations.
It should be noted that India abstained from voting for the Jordanian-drafted resolution that failed to condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas. India had, however, voted in favour of a Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis which has sought to insert a paragraph condemning the ‘terrorist attacks by Hamas,’ but the Canada-led amendment failed to pass at the UNGA as it did not achieve a two-thirds majority.
Despite knowing this, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reacted by saying that she was shocked and ashamed that our country has abstained from voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. NCP founder Sharad Pawar ceased the opportunity to launch a salvo against the BJP government at the Centre. He concluded that there eas confusion in Modi govt’s approach to Palestine issue.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also expressed ‘shock’ that India abstained from the UN General Assembly resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict and termed the abstention as “an inconsistent foreign policy” of the country.
Israel Hamas War: India maintains that it does not support terrorism
While it is understandable for opposition parties to criticize the government and its officials, politicizing critical geopolitical matters for political gain is a sheer travesty. The fact is that India has been extremely clear on its stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. India has since the start condemned the terror attack launched by the Palestine-backed Hamas against Israel and emphasized its commitment to diplomacy and dialogue over violence. India has made it sufficiently clear that it will never side with terrorism.
In fact, PM Narendra Modi had also strongly condemned the terrorist attack after the Islamic terror group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, leaving hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians, including infants and the elders and military personnel dead and several others wounded.
In fact, even while abstaining from voting at the UN, India reiterated its stance that it will never support terrorism. India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel called the Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 “shocking” and stressed that they deserve condemnation. She said that India calls for immediate and unconditional release of hostages.
“The terror attacks in Israel on 7th October were shocking and deserve condemnation. Our thoughts are also with those taken hostages. We call for their immediate and unconditional release. Terrorism is a malignancy and knows no borders, nationality or race. The world should not buy into any justification of terror acts. Let us keep aside differences, unite and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism,” Yojna Patel said.
Expressing deep concerns over the deteriorating security situation and the astounding loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, India at the UN urged both parties to “de-escalate, eschew violence.”
Why did India abstains from UN vote on Gaza
While the opposition parties are busy politicising India’s decision to abstain from the resolution on the Israel-Hamas war, the fact is that India refuse to vote as the Jordanian-drafted resolution did not condemn the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel. It is pertinent to note here that India was in favour of the Canadian resolution which condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas.
Explaining their decision to abstain, India said that the resolution did not mention Hamas and that the UN needs to send a clear message against terror.
“Terrorism is a “malignancy” and knows no borders, nationality or race and the world should not buy into any justification of terror acts,” India told the United Nations General Assembly after abstaining from the resolution on the Israel-Hamas war.
“We hope that the deliberations of this assembly will send a clear message against terror and violence and expand prospects for diplomacy and dialogue while addressing the humanitarian crisis that confronts us,” said India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel.
Patel added that India has always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side in peace with Israel.
Besides India, countries that abstained included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the UK.
India, instead, lent support to an amendment proposed by Canada seeking condemnation of Hamas and the terror attacks carried out in Israel.
The amendment sought a paragraph to be added in the resolution stating that the general assembly “unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting on 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages, demands the safety, well-being and humane treatment of the hostages in compliance with international law, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.”
The Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis, however, did not pass at the UNGA. It failed to achieve a two-thirds majority.
