New Delhi, April 10 The Congress urged the BJP-led government on Friday to consult with the opposition, and urgently revise and adopt a unified national approach to restore India's historic role as a principled, proactive, and credible voice for peace.
The opposition party welcomed the ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a vital step towards de-escalation, renewed diplomacy, and constructive dialogue, and ultimately, lasting peace in West Asia.
In a resolution adopted at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held at Indira Bhawan here, the party stated that the targeted assassinations of heads of state, waging war in violation of international law, and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are unconscionable crimes against both humanity and a rules-based world order.
"Any meaningful resolution must be based on the principles of the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations Charter – particularly the prohibition on the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State (Article 2 [4]) and the peaceful settlement of disputes (Article 2 [3])," the Congress said in the resolution.
The document also stated that this pause provides an opportunity for India to assess the costs.
In recent times, India's energy security has been undermined, its ties with its extended strategic neighbourhood have been strained, its role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region has weakened, and its moral leadership within the Global South has eroded, it noted.
"Equally worryingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's short-sighted, xenophobic, and unprincipled internationalism has not only alienated India from its neighbors, but has also undermined decades of painstaking efforts by successive Indian governments to diplomatically isolate Pakistan," the resolution said.
"By ceding strategic and diplomatic space, the BJP government has handed Pakistan the room to rehabilitate its global image and whitewash its track record of fomenting regional instability through support for cross-border terrorism targeting India, Afghanistan, and Iran," the resolution added.
The Congress said that the government's "incompetence" has allowed Pakistan to claim a pivotal role in the great power competition in Asia, which will also give Islamabad leverage over New Delhi on crucial bilateral issues through third-parties, effectively internationalising India-Pakistan matters.
"Given the unprecedented polycrisis we face, the BJP government must stop subordinating the national interest to electoral and ideological considerations, and disregarding the counsel of India's foreign policy establishment," the resolution adopted at the CWC said.
"Instead, the BJP government must consult with the Opposition, urgently revise and adopt a unified national approach to restore India's historic role as a principled, proactive, and credible voice for peace and a just international order," the resolution said.
