Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday carried to Parliament a handbag with “Palestine” emblazoned on it to express solidarity with the people of the war-ravaged nation and later in the Lok Sabha raised her voice against the “injustice” meted out to Hindus and Christians in Bangladesh.

The BJP maintained silence on the Wayanad MP’s move to voice the cause of Hindus in Bangladesh but went all out to slam her for sporting the Palestine bag, terming it “appeasement” and “crass communal posturing”. The bag sparked a war of words between Priyanka and some BJP leaders who sought to target the new entrant to Parliament from the Gandhi family.

Seeking to stress her solidarity message, Priyanka flaunted the bag as she arrived to attend Parliament proceedings in the morning. The bag also displayed emblems, including a watermelon, which is a symbol of Palestinians’ struggle against Israeli occupation.

Images of Priyanka with the bag were widely shared on social media platforms by Congress leaders.

The BJP promptly hit out. “The Gandhi family has always been carrying the bag of appeasement. The appeasement bag is the reason for their defeat in elections,” BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

When a reporter asked Priyanka about the BJP’s criticism, specifically the ruling side’s claim that “parliamentarians can’t carry this bag”, she responded angrily: “Who is going to decide what clothes I wear? That is typical patriarchy that you decide what clothes women wear also. I don’t subscribe to that, I will wear what I want.”

BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya latched on to her “patriarchy” response and attempted to portray her as a “big failure” while stressing the “Muslim appeasement” allegation.

“At the end of the Parliament session, observe a two-minute silence for everyone in the Congress who believed Priyanka Vadra was the long-awaited solution they should have embraced earlier. She is a bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi, who thinks sporting a bag in support of Palestine in Parliament is about fighting patriarchy,” Malviya posted on X, attaching a picture of Priyanka with the bag.

“Crass communal virtue signalling to Muslims is now cloaked as a stance against patriarchy! Make no mistake, Congress is the New Muslim League,” he added.

The BJP leaders’ attack on Priyanka for displaying solidarity with the people of Palestine was ironic as officially the Narendra Modi government too is on the same page. The Modi government supports the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living side by side in peace with Israel. It has been India’s “time-tested principled position” that “only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace and stability to the region”. The Modi government also continues to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestine.

Bangla rap

Priyanka later pointed to the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh to slam the BJP. She said that instead of going after her bag, the Modi government should take steps to stop the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in the neighbouring country. “Tell them to do something about the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, talk to the Bangladesh government, and not say stupid things,” she told reporters.

Earlier, she raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, stressing that “the government should raise its voice against the injustice being meted out to the minorities — the Hindus and Christians — in Bangladesh”. “There should be talks with the Bangladesh government and those in pain should get total support,” she told the House.