Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says, 'India stands with Palestine, don't count BJP's policy'

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that India should stop military and defence contracts with Israel, as he claimed that Israel was using India as a weapon against Palestine.

The Kerala Chief Minister further stated that India stood in solidarity with Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas war, and that support for Israel was part of the ruling BJP's policy which "should not be counted".

While speaking at the Communist Party of India's pro-Palestine rally, he said, "Our solidarity is towards Palestine. Please don't count the BJP's policy of supporting Israel as India's stand. India needs to stop military and defence contracts with Israel. India is used as a weapon against Palestine by Israel."

Pinarayi Vijayan explained that India supported Palestine in its pre and post-Independence era, adding that our acknowledgment of Israel began during Narasimha Rao's time and was influenced by our friendship with America.

He said, "India was with Palestine during the independence struggle and after independence. We continued Nehru's



policy for a long time."

Without directly naming Congress, the Chief Minister remarked that certain political parties which claim to have a strong influence in the country were not participating in the pro-Palestine protests.

He said, "We should notice one more thing. We see many Palestine solidarity rallies in the country, mostly organized by the left. Some other forces are there too. But where are those political parties that claim they have a strong influence in the country? They are not to be seen. In Kerala, we hear their voice in a different way. This is not due to lack of clarity or confusion, but due to a lack of a clear stand".

On October 29, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the central government after India abstained in the UN General Assembly from voting on a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Vijayan said that the government's support for Israel is a "blatant violation" of the policy of solidarity with the Palestinians who "fight for their own land".