New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): Congress MP Tariq Anwar on Wednesday expressed support for party leader and CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi's recent article on the ongoing West-Asia conflict, saying that certain people seem to be 'running away from speaking the truth'.

Speaking to ANI, Anwar said, 'The article by Sonia ji is right. It is a well-written and balanced article. What she said was that the stand that India used to take over such matters cannot be seen now, and it seems that we are running away from speaking the truth.'

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have attacked Gandhi on her article, saying that it is a matter of 'international policy'. Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan questioned Sonia Gandhi's article on Tuesday, asking why India should comment on this issue. 'Why do we have to speak about that? Sonia ji should understand that what is our connection to it... We are living in peace here, so what is the need... It is an international policy.'

Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday criticised Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government, stating that the government's silence on the 'targeted assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 'not neutral but an abdication'.

Sonia Gandhi, in her opinion piece in the Indian Express, said India's lack of response 'signals tacit endorsement of this tragedy.'

'On March 1, Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel. The killing of a sitting head of state in the midst of ongoing negotiations marks a grave rupture in contemporary international relations. Yet, beyond the shock of the event, what stands out equally starkly is New Delhi's silence,' Sonia Gandhi said in her opinion piece.

On February 28, the US and Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities. In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. (ANI)