New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Left parties and organisations on Monday staged a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, expressing solidarity with Palestine, with CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat accusing the Union government of diluting India’s age-old position on it.
At a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Karat, who was recently appointed the interim coordinator of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), accused the Narendra Modi-led government of following the path of the US.
“More than 42,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza in the last one year. This is an official figure, real numbers may be higher,” Karat said.
“Majority of those killed are women and children, which proves what kind of war it is. It is a genocide aimed at finishing the whole community,” he said.
Now they’re not just targeting Gaza, they are also attacking Lebanon, Karat said.
“The attacks are likely to intensify because no one can control Israel. Nobody can stop them because America is backing them. The US arms them, gives them funds and encourages them,” he said.
Karat accused the Modi government of siding with Israel, diluting India’s long-standing support for Palestine.
“The Modi government is supporting Israel. They’re exporting arms and drones,” he said.
“Just as the US and (US President Joe) Biden are supporting Israel, the Modi government is walking on the same path. It is shameful,” he said.
“India has always supported a separate state of Palestine, the Modi government has finished that,” he said.
Karat said that when the UN General Assembly recently adopted a resolution that demands that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, India abstained from voting.
“At a time when allies of the US in NATO — Spain, Belgium, UK — decided not to export arms to Israel, India, which claims to be leader of Global South, which was the leader of non-aligned movement, the Modi government has made that country an accomplice of US imperialism and Israeli war crimes,” he said.
“So it is not just about solidarity for Palestine, we have to garner more support for them, but at the same time, the policy of the Modi government against the people of Palestine needs to be exposed. Government needs to take urgent steps to stop arms export, and should work at all forums to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.
Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya also attacked the Union government accusing it of supporting Israel, and demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. PTI AO AO SKY SKY
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