Continuing his love-hate relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Talking about the raging Russia-Ukraine war, he tweeted, “Now that it is clear that what Russia has done in Ukraine violates BRICS Resolution in Delhi Declaration of last year. Will Modi have the guts to tell Putin to back off?”
A user in response to Swamy’s tweet questioning Modi said: “No, he’s caught between a rock & a hard place, the best is to play neutral which he is doing,”.
To this, the BJP MP responded with a transphobic slur saying, “A Prime Minister of 1.4 Billion people cannot be a political hijra (trans)”.
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time Swamy has questioned PM Modi over his decisions and issues, concerning the country.
In November 2021, Swamy had tweeted questioning the PM over China’s occupation of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Will Modi now admit also that China has grabbed our territory and Modi and his Govt. will strive to get back every inch in China’s possession?” he had questioned.
In December 2021, he had criticized the PM and the Finance minister, alleging that they knew little of economics, “The government does not understand economics, neither the PM knows nor the finance minister,” he had tweeted.
What does the BRICS New Delhi declaration say?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine goes against the declaration of the XIII BRICS summit held in New Delhi, in 2019. It unequivocally states that no force should be used against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
The New Delhi BRICS declaration commits to the resolution of all disputes by peaceful means and is opposed to unilateral use of force against any state. By invading Ukraine, Russia has violated all conditions of international law.
Recently, the Modi government twice abstained from voting at the UNSC resolution against Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
The BRICS New Delhi declaration, adopted on September 9, 2021, approved by Russia under President Putin, states, “We (BRICS) underscore the inadmissibility of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes and principles of United Nations.”
The declaration also states that the countries will express their concerns “at the continuing conflicts and violence in different parts of the world”.
The countries that signed the declaration affirmed their “commitment to the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of States. They reiterated “that all conflicts must be resolved by peaceful means and through diplomatic and political efforts in line with the international law”.