&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "BJP hits out at Congress for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize to ‘anti-India’ former Chilean PM Michelle Bachelet")
Prime Narendra Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party on Friday (Nov 21) launched a sharp attack on Congress for awarding former Chilean Prime Minister Michelle Bachelet with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development. Bachelet, the only woman to have served as President of Chile from 2006-2010 and 2014-2028, went on to serve in key positions at the UN, including Founding Director of UN Women and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Bachelet had been a vocal critic of the Modi government's policy on multiple occasions, including in 2019, when New Delhi abrogated Article 370 and imposed several restrictions, citing security concerns. Serving as the head of the UN Human Rights Council at the time, she expressed deep concern about the “impact of recent actions by the Government of India on the human rights of Kashmiris”.
Moreover, Bachelet applied to the matter, in a pending litigation in the Indian Supreme Court, seeking to intervene as amicus curiae. The centre responded, saying “no foreign party has any locus standi on issues concerning India's sovereignty”.
Echoing Prime Minister Modi’s recent remarks about Congress’s “changed DNA,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that selecting Bachelet as the 37th recipient of the award reflects what he called Congress’s “anti-India mindset.”
"A few days ago, PM Modi had told how the DNA of the Congress has become Muslim-Maoist Congress. When India's oldest political party functions like a Maoist organisation and spreads its network abroad, then it becomes a matter of great concern," Bhatia said, addressing a press conference in New Delhi.
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"Just as the DNA of Congress is anti-India, those who were awarded also attack the sovereignty of India," he said, adding, "She (Bachelet) questioned India's actions in Kashmir and said Article 370 should not be amended. Such positions are completely against India's sovereign decisions."
The award, instituted in 1986, is presented by the Indra Gandhi Memorial Trust, chaired by Sonia Gandhi. The trustees include Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Suman Dubey and Kanishka Singh.
Previous awardees include the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and former US President Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Yunus, the current chief advisor of Bangladesh, and Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from the position of prime minister, leading to the formation of the Yunus-led interim government, featured among previous recipients of the award.
