NCP's Sule asks Centre to call all-party meeting to discuss India's stand on Israel-Palestine issue

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Supriya Sule, MP and working president of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, on Thursday said the Union government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss India's stand on the Israel-Palestine issue.

Speaking to reporters here, Sule said that by supporting Israel, the Narendra Modi government has taken a different line.

She was replying to a question about the Indian government supporting Israel whereas the Congress is talking about the rights of the Palestinian people amid the ongoing war triggered by Hamas's incursions inside Israel.

India's policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict had been consistent until now, Sule said.

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"It was the same policy for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Indira Gandhi as prime minister. India always had one line on this issue, but the Central government is taking a different line. When such issues pertaining to external affairs arise, an all-party meeting should be held," she said.

"The world is at war right now," the Lok Sabha member from Baramati said, stressing the need for an all-party meet or discussion with all the senior leaders in the country.

"I would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrange an all-party meeting urgently," she added.

The Congress Working Committee on Monday reiterated its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity while also calling for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations on all outstanding issues.

Earlier, in a scathing retort to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Supriya Sule, a Member of Parliament representing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a key figure in the Sharad Pawar faction, has raised questions regarding the BJP's integrity and consistency in its dealings with her party.

Sule's remarks come in response to recent statements made by Chhagan Bhujbal, a veteran NCP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, suggesting that the NCP and BJP had been involved in back-channel discussions. The revelations have raised eyebrows and led to a fiery exchange of words between the two political parties.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Sule openly challenged the BJP, asking, "I want to ask the BJP; on one side, you called the NCP the 'Naturally Corrupt Party'... On the other side, (Chhagan) Bhujbal says that NCP and BJP were having discussions in the back channel... If the NCP is corrupt, then why was the BJP having negotiations with us? This shows that the allegations of corruption by the BJP were false. On one side, they were calling us corrupt, and on the other side, they were having back-channel discussions... Doesn't this show the double face of the BJP? ...They should clarify this."

The NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, has been a vocal critic of the BJP, often accusing the ruling party of making baseless allegations and engaging in mudslinging politics. The "Naturally Corrupt Party" tag was a derogatory term used by some BJP members to refer to the NCP, emphasizing their allegations of corruption within the party.

The revelation of back-channel talks, however, has provided the NCP with ammunition to challenge the BJP's credibility. Sule's question about the BJP's contradictory stance regarding the NCP's alleged corruption is likely to fuel the ongoing political discourse. (With inputs from agencies)