New Delhi, March 13 The Congress on Friday attacked the Modi government for its "silence" regarding the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said "a compromised prime minister undoubtedly wants to avoid antagonizing his American and Israeli friends."
Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that while India has rightly condemned Iran's attacks on Gulf states, it is completely silent on the US-Israeli assault on Iran in the first place.
"Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the constitutional head of state in Iran, was assassinated on February 28, 2026, by the US and Israel. The Prime Minister is silent. The External Affairs Minister is silent. Parliament has not yet issued an obituary reference," Ramesh said on X.
"India has rightly condemned Iran's attacks on Gulf states, but it is completely silent on the US-Israeli assault on Iran in the first place. It should be remembered that Iran is a part of the BRICS+ forum for which India holds the Presidency for this year," he said.
Noting that in May 2026, the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash, Ramesh said that the Modi government had ordered one-day mourning on May 21, 2026, and Parliament had an obituary reference on July 1, 2026, when it convened.
"Why the hesitation now? A compromised Prime Minister undoubtedly wants to avoid antagonizing his American and Israeli 'friends'," the Congress leader said, apparently referring to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Congress said on Thursday that the opposition is demanding a discussion in both Houses of Parliament on the situation in West Asia and its impacts on India, but the Modi government is "adamantly refusing" to allow such a debate as it is "afraid."
The opposition party also claimed that the government's foreign policy "already stands brutally exposed."
The Congress staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha and protested in the Lok Sabha after being dissatisfied with the statement of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in both Houses of Parliament on Monday.
The opposition party had termed Jaishankar's statement on the West Asia situation in Parliament as "vapid" and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "adventurism" in foreign policy, coupled with the government's undermining of the Indian Foreign Service, is pushing India into "vassalage."
The US and Israel launched a major military attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Khamenei.
Making a suo-motu statement in Parliament, Jaishankar had said that New Delhi stands for maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region. He defended allowing the Iranian ship to dock at an Indian port as the right decision taken on humanitarian grounds.
He said that the Indian government has been constantly monitoring the evolving situation in the region at the highest level and has already brought back 67,000 stranded Indians from the conflict zone.
Jaishankar had said that the safety of Indian nationals and national interests, such as energy security and trade, remain the topmost priority for the government.