Does PM Modi support killing of a Head of State, asks Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must speak up and clarify whether he supported “assassination of a head of the State” as a way to define the world order, a comment seen as a reference to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in the US-Israeli missile attack. Silence on the issue, he said, “diminishes” India’s global standing.

Maintaining India must be morally clear and should have the courage to speak plainly in defence of international law and human lives, Gandhi said, “Our foreign policy is rooted in sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes – and it must remain consistent. PM Modi must speak up. Does he support the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order? Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world.”

Gandhi’s comments in a post on X came after Congress parliamentary party chairperson and his mother Sonia Gandhi took a similar position in a newspaper article.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also tried a balancing act on the war in the Middle East. “While security concerns are real, attacks that violate sovereignty will only worsen the crisis. The unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran’s attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned. Violence begets violence – dialogue and restraint remain the only path to peace.”