'India's standing never as weak as now': Cong seeks short duration discussion on West Asia in Parliament

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) With the second half of the Budget session set to begin next week, the Congress on Friday demanded that a full-fledged short duration discussion be held on the West Asian situation and asserted that a suo motu statement on behalf of the government would not suffice.

Speaking with PTI, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that the Narendra Modi government today stands "shrunken and diminished" with India's global standing never being "as weak as it is now".

He said the government was making India play "second fiddle" not only to the US but also to Israel.

Using cricketing analogy, Ramesh said the Modi government has been on a sticky wicket for a long time with "googlies being bowled from Washington".

"The second phase of the Budget session starts on March 9 and it is scheduled to go up to April 2. So, it's a 25-day period, but actually the number of sittings is only 17 because a large number of important festivals and holidays are in this period. The appropriations bill, the finance bill will have to be discussed. We're also going to be discussing the functioning of four or five ministries. So, there is a set schedule for this phase," he said.

However, there are very many important issues, the Indo-US trade deal, the continued blackmail by the United States when it comes to India's purchases of oil from Russia, the targeted assassinations of the Supreme leader in Iran and large number of political and military leaders and the continued West Asia conflict that has expanded into other parts of West Asia, he said.

"There were the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran and the subsequent attacks by Iran on the Gulf countries. There are almost 10 million Indians who work in this region, whose lives, livelihoods, safety, security are affected. So, it's a very important economic issue. We get about 50-60 billion dollars of remittances every year from this region, if not more. So, it's a very important issue for us and we will certainly demand an urgent discussion on the West Asian situation," Ramesh said.

Referring to a US submarine torpedoing and sinking an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast, he said this was extraordinary and has never happened before.

He asserted that suo motu statements by the government are meaningless because then no clarifications allowed.

"We want a full-fledged short duration discussion. It should not be a suo motu statement on behalf of the government because just to demand a statement is meaningless as the minister would come, make a statement and go. You are not allowed to ask any questions. So we need a full-fledged short duration discussion on the West Asian situation caused by the aggression of the US and Israel on Iran and the subsequent attacks by Iran on Gulf countries, the activities of the US navy in the Indian Ocean," Ramesh said.

Earlier this week, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget session, the government's "disturbing silence" over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion.

Referring to the US statement that it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver on Russian oil purchases, Ramesh said, "Today's statement by the US treasury secretary (Scott Bessent)...he is doing us a favour by saying that he will give us a 30-day waiver. What does it show, the language that is used in an official US treasury secretary statement, it shows India as a supplicant and that it does India a favour".

He said it has been a "sticky wicket" for the government for long.

"Googlies are being bowled from Washington. A googly was bowled on May 10, suddenly announcing a halt to Operation Sindoor and subsequently, over a 100 times, President Trump has tried to bowl an off break or a leg break or a googly...The Indian government today stands shrunken, it stands diminished, in spite of all the photo opportunities and hugs that the prime minister can do with visiting dignitaries or when he goes abroad," Ramesh said.

"The fact of the matter is that we are playing second fiddle to the US and not only are we playing second fiddle to the US, we seem to be playing second fiddle even to Israel because two days after PM leaves Israel, it stars its attacks for targeted assassinations on Iran," he said.

"So I am afraid India's global standing has never been as weak as it is (now). There was a time when the American President called Indian prime minister all sorts of unprintable names, abused her, threatened her, intimidated her, the Nixon-Kissenger duo. Indira Gandhi stood up for India's interest and she did what she thought was right. She emerged from it standing tall," Ramesh said.

The prime minister is silent on the assassination of Iranian leaders by Israel and the US, on Trump's claims on the haltage of Operation Sindoor, on American pressure to reduce oil imports from Russia, he said.

"So, the PM who spares no effort to defame opposition leaders, when it comes to President Trump's actions or Israel's actions, is completely silent. This is not the India that the world knows," Ramesh said.

The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. PTI ASK ZMN