NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi on Monday arrived at the Parliament premises sporting a bag with “Palestine” written on it and emblems, including a watermelon — a symbol often associated with Palestinian solidarity.
However, it was met with criticism from the BJP, which accused Congress of constantly carrying a “bag of appeasement” and dubbed it an attempt to grab “headlines.”
Images of Priyanka Gandhi flauting the bag in Parliament were widely shared by Congress members and party spokespersons. This symbolic gesture comes days after she was seen wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh (a traditional Palestinian headscarf) during a meeting with the Palestinian Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires.
“Priyanka Gandhi shows her solidarity with Palestine by carrying a special bag symbolizing her support. A gesture of compassion, commitment to justice, and humanity! She is clear that nobody can violate the Geneva Convention,” Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed wrote on X, sharing a picture.
Priyanka Gandhi, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, recently met with the Charge d’Affaires of the Palestinian Embassy, Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer. The diplomat congratulated the newly elected MP from Wayanad on her victory. Earlier in June, Gandhi had been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the government of “genocide” in Gaza.
Gandhi had contended that just voicing concern for the countless innocent lives lost in Gaza was no longer sufficient as they continued to fall victim to what she described as a “genocide.”
“It is the moral responsibility of every right-thinking individual, including all those Israeli citizens who do not believe in hatred and violence, and every government in the world to condemn the Israeli government’s genocidal actions and force them to stop,” she had said in a post on X.
However, the BJP hit out at Priyanka Gandhi for the gesture, saying “The Gandhi family has always been carrying the bag of appeasement”.
“The appeasement bag is the reason for their losses in elections,” Sambit Patra said during a press briefing at the national capital.
“People do such things for news. When they have been rejected by the people, they resort to such actions,” BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali Khatana said.
