If the PM is compromised, our foreign policy is compromised: Rahul Gandhi

As the US–Israel–Iran conflict enters its fourth week, its ripple effects are being felt in India’s foreign policy discourse, with observers questioning New Delhi’s strategic positioning amid the escalating crisis.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday 24 March, launched a sharp attack on the government, describing India’s foreign policy as a “universal joke” and alleging that it has become overly personalised under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing the media in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi claimed that key foreign policy decisions were being influenced externally. He alleged that the prime minister “will do what America and Israel say,” rather than act in India’s strategic interests. “If the PM is compromised, our foreign policy is compromised,” he said.

Responding to questions on reports of Pakistan acting as an intermediary between the US–Israel bloc and Iran, Gandhi argued that India lacked an independent strategic voice in the unfolding West Asia crisis. “Our foreign policy is PM Modi’s personal foreign policy. You can see the results—everybody considers this a universal joke,” he remarked.

He also criticised the government’s handling of the situation and warned of its potential economic fallout.

“This is just the beginning—LPG, petrol, fertiliser, all these will pose a problem,” Gandhi said, adding that the government appeared to lack a clear grasp of the evolving crisis.

Gandhi further took aim at Modi’s recent remarks in Parliament drawing parallels between the West Asia conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the prime minister seemed to have forgotten the scale of human suffering during the pandemic and the tragedies that unfolded across the country.

“Yesterday he made an irrelevant speech. He is the prime minister of India, he must appear to be the PM of India, he has no position. It is sad that this would bring harm to people.

On Monday, 23 March, in his address to the Lok Sabha the prime minister cautioned that the ongoing conflict could trigger prolonged global instability. Drawing a parallel with the pandemic, he urged the nation to remain “prepared and united,” as it had during Covid-19.

“This war has created difficult global conditions that may persist for a long time. Hence, we must remain prepared and united,” Modi had said, stressing that India must respond with “patience, restraint and calmness".