Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday criticised the NDA government over the outcome of the recent BRICS meeting held in New Delhi, alleging that India’s stance on the Israel–Palestine issue led to the failure in issuing a joint statement and isolated the country diplomatically.
In a statement, Ramesh said that the April 23–24 meeting of Deputy Foreign Ministers and Special Envoys from BRICS nations concluded without a joint communique, attributing the deadlock partly to differences among member states, including Iran and the United Arab Emirates over the ongoing conflict in West Asia. However, he claimed that a key reason for the impasse was India’s insistence on softening the language concerning Israel and Palestine.
“While divergent positions between Iran and the UAE are understandable, what is shocking and shameful is that India pushed for diluting the language on Israel and Palestine, which was unacceptable to other members including Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the UAE, and Iran,” Ramesh said.
The Congress leader further accused the government of departing from India’s long-standing diplomatic position on the Palestinian issue. He alleged that India has shown “steadfast solidarity” with Israel despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the bombardment in southern Lebanon, and tensions in the West Bank.
Ramesh’s remarks reflect the opposition party’s broader criticism of what it describes as a shift in India’s traditional West Asia policy.
The BRICS grouping, an expanded format of the original BRICS bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, now includes several additional countries from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The platform is increasingly being seen as a forum for coordination among emerging economies on geopolitical and economic issues, including conflicts impacting the Global South.
India, which hosted the latest round of discussions in New Delhi, has maintained that it supports dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the Israel–Palestine conflict while balancing its strategic partnerships in the region. Over the years, New Delhi has deepened ties with Israel in areas such as defence, technology and agriculture, while also reiterating support for a two-state solution and continued engagement with the Palestinian leadership.
Ramesh, however, sharpened his attack by directly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging close alignment with Israeli leadership. “The Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Israel are clearly soulmates,” he said, adding further political criticism of the government’s foreign policy approach.
There has been no official response from the government to the Congress leader’s remarks so far. The absence of a joint statement at the BRICS meeting, however, highlights the complexities within the expanded grouping, where differing geopolitical priorities and regional conflicts continue to test consensus-building efforts.
