New Delhi, March 2 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the party unequivocally condemns the targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a military strike carried out by the US and Israeli military forces without a formal declaration of war.
He also added that the Congress extends its deepest condolences to the Supreme Leader's family, to the people of Iran, and the Shia community around the world in this moment of profound grief and stands in solidarity with them as they navigate this grave crisis.
Taking to his official X account on Sunday, Kharge in a post on X said: "The Indian National Congress (INC) unequivocally condemns the targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, in a military strike carried out without a formal declaration of war. The INC extends its deepest condolences to the Supreme Leader's family, to the people of Iran, and the Shia community around the world in this moment of profound grief. We stand in solidarity with them as they navigate this grave crisis."
The Congress President also said that India's foreign policy is anchored in a commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and respect for international law, as mandated in Article 51 of the Constitution of India.
"These principles-sovereign equality, non- intervention and the promotion of peace are foundational to India's civilisational values. Given this, the conflict in West Asia is deeply antithetical to our commitment to Vasudhaiva Kutumbaka ("the world is one family"), Mahatma Gandhi's doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence), Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's policy of non-alignment," Kharge in an X post said.
"The targeted use of force to destabilise the leadership and governing structures of a sovereign state whether in Iran or earlier in Venezuela-signals a disturbing revival of regime-change doctrines and coercive unilateralism. It also contravenes the United Nations Charter-especially Article 2(4), which expressly prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," and Article 2(7), which forbids intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. A targeted killing of a sitting head of state strikes at the heart of these international rules. Sovereignty is not conditional, and political legitimacy cannot be manufactured through force."
"The INC reiterates that it is the inalienable right of every nation's citizens to determine their own political future. No external power has the authority to engineer regime change or dictate the leadership of another state. Such actions amount to imperialism and are fundamentally incompatible with a genuinely rules- based international order."
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