Left Parties Condemn Death of Three Indian Sailors Following US Navy Attack on Ships in Strait of Hormuz

New Delhi: Five Left parties have jointly condemned the US Navy's attack on commercial vessels carrying Indian sailors through the Strait of Hormuz, in which three Indian nationals were killed. Describing it as the third such attack on vessels with Indian crew members, the parties said they are registering their strongest protest against the incident.

In a joint statement signed by CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby, CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI(ML) (Liberation) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, All India Forward Bloc General Secretary G Devarajan, and RSP General Secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, the parties said the US has declared its intention to continue attacks on such vessels — actions they characterised as violations of UN declarations and the international laws governing freedom of navigation on the high seas.

The statement accused the US of seeking to impose its hegemony across the globe, and charged that the BJP-led central government has failed the nation dismally by abandoning an independent foreign policy and aligning itself as a partner of the United States. The government's muted response and its failure to secure an apology from Washington were cited as evidence of this abdication — an affront, the statement said, to India's sovereignty and self-respect.

The parties also noted that US military action against Iran and West Asia has severely disrupted the global economy, triggering a worsening energy crisis and shortages of fertilisers and other essential commodities. In this context, they demanded that India unequivocally condemn US imperialist aggression and stand firm against it.

The joint statement called for adequate compensation to be ensured for the families of the killed sailors, announced that protest demonstrations against the US attacks will be organised across the country, and urged the central government to use all diplomatic channels to bring those responsible for the deaths to account.