Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Carries 'Palestine' Bag With Watermelon Symbol To Parliament, BJP MP Calls It Appeasement

Demonstrating her support for the people of Palestine, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a Congress member of Parliament (MP), brought a bag to Parliament on Monday (16 December) that was prominently marked with the word "Palestine".

Vadra was spotted holding a handbag that prominently displayed the term "Palestine" and various Palestinian symbols, such as a watermelon, which is recognised as a sign of solidarity with Palestine.

The General Secretary of Congress has been vocal in her opposition to Israel's activities in Gaza, demonstrating support for the Palestinians.

Last week, Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, the acting head of the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi, visited Vadra. This was to extend his congratulations to the Congress leader for her latest election win from Wayanad in Kerala.

In June, Vadra criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him and his administration of "genocidal actions" in Gaza. She referred to their actions as "barbarism".

The comments from the Congress general secretary emerged following Netanyahu's justification of Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza during a speech to the US Congress. She had stated that their behaviors are intolerable in a society that claims to uphold decency and ethical standards.

Vadra emphasised that merely advocating for the civilians, parents, healthcare professionals, aid workers, journalists, educators, authors, poets, elderly, and countless innocent children who were being eliminated daily due to the "horrific genocide" occurring in Gaza, was no longer sufficient.

"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.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambit Patra criticsed Vadra's gesture today and said, "The Gandhi family has always been carrying the bag of appeasement. The appeasement bag is the reason behind their rout in elections."

On X, he posted a collage comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vadra where the former was featured with the caption "main aapka hun" (I am yours) and the latter with "woh unke hai (They are theirs)."