Uddhav Thackeray camp criticises govt's 'changed stance'

The Uddhav Thackeray group has slammed the Narendra Modi government for 'changing' the country's historic stand on Palestine following Israel's alleged supply of Pegasus spyware. The party supported the Congress Working Committee resolution which endorsed the Palestine demand for a homeland.

"India was the first country to recognise Palestine and Yasser Arafat. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said Israel was doing injustice in Palestine and Israel had grabbed land. Now you (Modi government) have got help from them on Pegasus; you have got help from Mossad; you are helping them because they helped you secretly," Thackeray faction spokesman Sanjay Raut alleged in Mumbai on Tuesday.

He said that the Indian position on Palestine was consistent for several years through several governments but had 'slightly changed' now. "The situation on the ground has not changed. Indira Gandhi and Yasser Arafat were like brother and sister. The support for Palestine is an old Indian position since Indira Gandhi's time. When Vajpayee was foreign minister in the Janata Party government, he said that Palestinians faced injustice. After Modi assumed power, there has been a slight change," Raut claimed.