Israel Envoy’s Attack on Prominent Indian MP Priyanka Gandhi Sparks Anger and Backlash; Jaishankar Silent

"Now Israel is parking genocidal psychopaths in India also." That is how one social media user reacted to Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar’s direct comment on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s statement on Gaza. 

Image Source: INC India

Gandhi, in a post on X, had accused Israel of committing genocide, citing figures of more than 60,000 killed, including over 18,000 children, and alleging starvation tactics against civilians. She criticised the Indian government’s silence on the issue. 

Ambassador Azar quote-posted her remarks, calling them “deceit” and “shameful.” He asserted that Israel had killed “25,000 Hamas terrorists,” accused Hamas of using civilians as shields, and dismissed the casualty figures she cited.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, to which both India and Israel are signatories, states that diplomats have a duty “not to interfere in the internal affairs” of the host state. 

While the treaty does not define interference exhaustively, established practice discourages direct public criticism of a host country’s political leaders or commentary on domestic political debates. 

Globally, breaches of this nature have led to consequences. In 2021, the U.K. summoned the Chinese ambassador over public statements on internal political matters. In 2014, Ecuador expelled a U.S. ambassador after comments on police unrest. In 2018, Venezuela declared the Spanish ambassador persona non grata for statements on its internal political crisis.

In the past, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has issued demarches to foreign missions when envoys’ remarks were deemed intrusive in internal matters, such as in 2012 when comments from U.S. officials on protests in Delhi prompted a formal protest, and in 2021 when statements by certain foreign entities on the farmers’ protests drew a reminder from the MEA to adhere to diplomatic norms.

Indian diplomats posted abroad are bound by the same principles and avoid direct public criticism of host governments’ domestic political matters, in keeping with MEA guidelines. 

Breaches of this convention globally have, in some cases, led to measures such as summoning envoys, issuing formal protests, or declaring them persona non grata.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh issued a statement condemning the ambassador’s words. 

“The Indian National Congress condemns the words used by Israel's Ambassador to India in response to the pain and anguish expressed by Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MP, on Israel's continuing genocide in Gaza. It is too much to expect the Modi Govt, which has shown extreme moral cowardice when it comes to speaking out on Israel’s destruction of Gaza over the past 18-20 months, to take serious exception and objection to the Ambassador's response. We do and find it totally unacceptable,” Ramesh said.

At the time of this report, the Ministry of External Affairs and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar have made no public comment, despite hundreds of social media users urging them to do so. 

In India’s democratic framework, debates, disagreements, and protests are part of the political process, and policy positions emerge from internal consensus-building without external pressure or intimidation from foreign representatives.