Congress Questions Modi on Foreign Policy Over Passport Rankings and Gaza Silence
The Congress party on Monday escalated its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy, accusing the government of weakening India's global standing and abandoning its moral position on West Asia.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in posts on X, highlighted a decline in the ranking of the Indian passport according to global indices. He claimed that India's passport ranking dropped from 74th in 2013 to 80th in June 2026 as per the World Economic Forum, and to 125th this year according to Global Citizens Solution. Kharge also noted an increase in passport fees, from ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, with tatkal fees rising to ₹5,000.
He further pointed out that foreign tourist arrivals in 2024 (9.95 million) remained below the pre-COVID level of 10.93 million in 2019, questioning whether the government was masking this failure by including NRI arrivals in the data. Kharge described the official visa application portal as outdated and confusing.
Separately, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticized the Prime Minister's silence on Israel's actions in Gaza. He referenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu citing Indian support in a response to US Vice President J.D. Vance, who said Washington was Israel's only powerful ally. Ramesh called Mr. Modi a 'self-styled, award-hungry Vishwaguru' and said the silence was a betrayal of India's civilisational ethos, adding that 'getting a certificate from Mr. Netanyahu is no badge of honour' given the Israeli leader's isolation.
