Congress leaders break ranks with Rahul Gandhi on Iran war, LPG supply

At least four senior Congress leaders have differed with the party high command's line on the war in Iran and the LPG situation in India. While Rahul Gandhi is attacking the Modi government, Kamal Nath, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari have backed the government's handling of the crisis.

After Operation Sindoor, the war in Iran and the LPG supply situation that seem to have created a difference of opinion within the Congress. Several senior leaders, including Kamal Nath, Anand Sharma, Shahsi Tharoor and Manish Tewari have differed in their opinion from Rahul Gandhi's on the Modi government's handling of the war in the Middle East and the fuel supply situation in India.

Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly hit out at the Modi government's diplomatic stance on the US-Israel-Iran War. But senior leaders of the Congress have been repeatedly seen to be differing with him, and praising the government's approach to the situation.

Rahul Gandhi has called India's foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership "compromised". However, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called it "responsible statecraft".

Rahul Gandhi urged the Centre to condemn Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's killing. Days after Khamenei's death, India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri signed the condolence book at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, marking India’s first official response.

Congress MP Manish Tewari, while speaking on a TV news channel on the West Asia war, said the "government is likely doing the right thing".

On Thursday, two senior Congress leaders — former Union Minister Anand Sharma and Madhya Pradesh's former Chief Minister Kamal Nath — lauded the Centre's handling of the situation.

In a series of posts on X, Anand Sharma complimented the government and called for unity. He lauded India's diplomatic handling of the West Asia crisis as "mature and skillful".

Kamal Nath was also seen rejecting the Congress's stance on the LPG situation. The Congress high command has been continuously hitting out at the government over the reported LPG shortage. But Kamal Nath said, "There is no such shortage. It is just an atmosphere being created that there is a shortage."

Leaders of the BJP used the ammunition to attack the Congress.

"Now, even Congress leader Kamal Nath has himself admitted that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, or gas in the country," Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia wrote on X. "It is time for the Congress to stop creating fear and distrust among the people to bake their political bread," he added.

The BJP's National Spokesperson, Pradeep Bhandari, reacted to the ongoing tussle in the Congress and said, "Congress leaders know Rahul Gandhi is an opportunist; Anti-India Man!"

TWO WARS DIVIDED THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS INTO TWO

The episode of the party's leaders breaking the line is not new for the Congress or for Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress faced a similar situation after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, and hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir in April.

Shashi Tharoor then put the interests of the country above that of the party's and backed the government. That was even as Rahul Gandhi was criticising the government's "political will".

The Modi government decided to form an all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, consisting of a 59 parliamentarians, to visit several countries and present India's stance.

The Congress alleged that the government did not consult the party leadership before selecting Tharoor and Tewari as members of the delegation. Congress had suggested the names of Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Shashi Tharoor was even made the leader of one of the seven high-profile delegations that visited the US and Latin America.

On Operation Sindoor, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of lacking political will and also said that the attacks were conducted to protect PM Modi’s image rather than to deliver a strong blow to terrorism. Differing from the stand, both Tharoor and Tewari hailed the operation and the prowess of the Indian Armed Forces. They distanced themselves from the statements of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi and did not amplify them.

As a result of these developments, during the parliamentary debate on Operation Sindoor in 2025, both Tewari and Tharoor were not given a chance to speak by the Congress.

The US-Israel-Iran War has once again divided the Congress, with Anand Sharma hailing the government and Kamal Nath clearing the air on the LPG situation, on which his party is trying to corner the Modi government.

HOW ANAND SHARMA, KAMAL NATH ARE DIFFERING WITH CONGRESS LEADERSHIP

Anand Sharma said, "Indian diplomatic handling of the crisis has been mature and skillful, avoiding potential minefields". He also suggested on India's response and wrote, "must be backed by a national consensus and resolve".

The government, he added, has held an all-party meeting to apprise political leaders about the policy decisions in "an unpredictable and volatile situation".

"This national dialogue should be sustained. National unity and a mature response guided by national interest is the need of the hour," he had added, clarifying that apart from the "historical and civilisational relations with Persia", there is also the question of the energy crisis.

On his part, Kamal Nath accused certain quarters of deliberately creating panic over cooking gas for political gains and also said, "There is no dearth of cooking gas in the state [Madhya Pradesh]."

The fresh reactions from the senior leaders show how they are differing with the party's high command, especially with Rahul Gandhi, on an issue that concerns the country's foreign policy and domestic LPG supply.

- Ends