Congress wants India to ‘blindly side’ with Iran, even China distancing from it: BJP

“While the US–Israel–Iran conflict raged on, so did the war of words between the two main political parties — the BJP and Congress — over issues related to crude oil, safety, and India’s response to the crisis.”

The BJP on Thursday slammed the Congress for criticising the Narendra Modi government’s response to the US-Israel attack on Iran, saying even China is distancing itself from Tehran while the opposition party is urging India to “blindly side” with Iran despite its “reckless actions across the Gulf, threatening vital oil shipping routes”.

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“India’s foreign policy must be guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens, not by the compulsions of Congress’ outdated ideological reflexes,” BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said on a day Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the ruling party of “demeaning India’s core national interests and destroying the foreign policy carefully and painstakingly built and followed by successive governments over the years”.

Kharge also questioned the Prime Minister over what he described as the absence of “any statement of concern or condolence”, and noted that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said on Wednesday that “some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing”. Targeting the Prime Minister, Kharge questioned the government’s energy contingency planning, particularly amid concerns over crude supplies. “You say only 25 days of crude and oil stocks are left. With rising oil prices, what is our energy contingency plan, especially in the wake of the Government of India virtually accepting the demand to stop importing Russian oil? What about the trade of other key commodities with Gulf countries?” Kharge asked.

Amid reports that India’s oil import strategy could undergo a shift due to escalating tensions in West Asia, with renewed focus on crude supplies from Russia, Malviya said that “even China, which spent years diplomatically shielding Iran, overlooking its support for proxy terror groups and buying the bulk of its oil, is now distancing itself from Tehran”.

“Yet the Indian National Congress wants India to blindly side with Iran, even as it continues reckless actions across the Gulf, threatens vital oil shipping routes, and escalates tensions in a region where millions of Indians live and work,” he added.

Following US sanctions under President Donald Trump, New Delhi had reduced Russian crude purchases. But the ongoing US–Israel–Iran conflict has once again made Russian oil an attractive option and according to reports, India is stepping up purchases as disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz threaten crucial oil supplies from the Middle East.

Kharge further alleged that an Iranian naval ship that had attended the International Fleet Review 2026 in India was torpedoed while returning unarmed through the Indian Ocean Region.

“As many as 38 Indian-flagged commercial ships along with 1,100 sailors are stuck in the Gulf of Hormuz. Two Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar, have reportedly died. Why is there no maritime rescue or relief operation in place?” he asked, calling the government’s response “a surrender at both political and moral levels”.

The MEA on Wednesday said that: “There are almost one crore Indian citizens who live and work in the Gulf region. Their safety and well-being is of utmost priority. We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them. Our trade and energy supply chains also traverse this geography. Any major disruption has serious consequences for the Indian economy. As a country whose nationals are prominent in the global workforce, India is also firmly opposed to attacks on merchant shipping. Already, some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing as a result of such attacks in the last few days”.