In the second sign of disunity between the BJP-led NDA government and one of its key allies, a senior Janata Dal (United) functionary on 25 August joined leaders of Opposition parties – the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – to prevail upon the Centre to stop the supply of arms and ammunition to Israel that invaded Gaza following the deadly attacks by Palestinian militant outfit Hamas last October. A statement was issued in Delhi which cannot easily be pushed under the carpet as a tiny crack.
However, the importance of this statement, on a day the Middle East witnessed a fresh wave of attacks and retaliatory strikes between Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, increases because of the timing. This Israeli attack on Hezbollah was its biggest since the full-scale war between the two in 2006.
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With the unfolding events, the joint statement issued by the Opposition and JD(U) leaders assumes significance in Indian politics. The first sign of disenchantment demonstrated by the JD(U) was when its President and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar did not show up at a Niti Aayog meeting of Chief Ministers held at New Delhi on 27 July with PM Modi being present. There was no prior information about Nitish’s absence.
The NDA government in its previous term, when the BJP was calling the shots having more than the requisite number to survive on its own, had great bonhomie with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as the common thread running between the two was their antipathy towards Moslems. It may be noted that the JD(U) is a much needed partner in the NDA coalition government and it enjoys the support of a large section of Moslems in its home turf of Bihar.
The Opposition and JD(U) leaders, some parliamentarians among them, condemned the “ongoing Zionist aggression and the heinous genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel.” In a strong message to the Modi government, they said India “cannot be complicit” in this.
The statement came after a meeting in New Delhi between the League of Parliamentarians and Al Quds’ secretary general Mohammed Makram Balawi. That meeting where Balawi spoke in detail about Israel’s alleged violation of international law was jointly organised by JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi and SP’s Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan. Apart from Tyagi and Khan, SP Lok Sabha MP Mohibullah Nadvi, former MP and Rashtrawadi Samaj Party’s ex-president Mohammed Adeeb, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, AAP MLA Pankaj Pushkar, Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal and former Lok Sabha Congress MP Kunwar Danish Ali signed the statement.
In the statement they said they unequivocally condemned the Israeli aggression and the assault, they insisted, was an affront to humanity and a gross violation of international law and the principles of justice and peace.
While urging the Centre to stop the supply of arms and ammunition to Israel, the parties said as a nation that has always championed the cause of justice and human rights, India cannot be complicit in this genocide.
These are strong words and coming from a key ally of the NDA government, they can be interpreted as a sign that the BJP will find it difficult to continue with the government’s rather ambivalent stand on the raging conflict between Israel and Palestinians. The NDA government has so far not been vocal against Israel’s hostilities against Palestinians that have been condemned by different world bodies.
The government’s friendly ties with Israel came under scrutiny and attack during its previous term when it was found that it had bought the Pegasus spyware from Israel for domestic spying. It was allegedly used to stifle the voice of protest against the government’s policies and its acts of omission and commission. The espionage software is still being used to keep tabs on journalists, writers, officials, social activists and others.
The noise being made by the JD(U) suggests the NDA government’s troubles of depending on two of its crucial allies have started surfacing over a least expected issue. KC Tyagi is known in Delhi circles as the main trouble shooter for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
