Rahul Gandhi party again criticizes the Center, and Shashi Tharoor is not one of the Congress candidates for the all-party delegations.
The government was criticized by the Congress on Saturday for purportedly choosing only one of the four candidates the party had recommended to join diplomatic delegations.
According to reports, seven delegations visiting foreign cities to highlight India’s determination to combat terrorism in the context of Operation Sindoor would include 51 political leaders, lawmakers, and former ministers from various political parties.
What was said by the Congress?
On Saturday morning, May 16, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post X that “the Modi govt asked for four names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the INC in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India’s stance on terrorism from Pakistan.”
“These four names were conveyed in writing by the LoP Lok Sabha to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by noon on May 16th itself,” Ramesh stated.
“The complete list of all delegation members has been formally released very late tonight (May 17th),” he continued. Unfortunately, only one of the four names that the INC leadership recommended has been used.
Statement by Shri Jairam Ramesh
On May 16th morning the Modi Govt asked for 4 names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the INC in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India’ stance on terrorism from Pakistan. These 4 names were conveyed in writing by the LoP Lok Sabha to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by 12 noon on May 16th itself.
Very late tonight (May 17th) the full list of members of all delegations has been officially released. Most regrettably only 1 of the 4 names suggested by the INC leadership has been included. This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi Govt and shows the cheap political games it always plays on serious national issues.
The 4 eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi Govt will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions. The INC will not stoop to the pathetic level of the PM and the BJP. It will always uphold the finest traditions of Parliamentary democracy and not play partisan politics on national security issues, like the BJP does. INC wishes the delegations all the very best. These delegations should not, however, divert attention from the INC’s demands to have all-paty meetings chaired by the PM and for a special session of Parliament to reiterate the resolution adopted on Feb 22 1994 while also taking note of developments thereafter.
Congress did not nominate Shashi Tharoor.
According to Ramesh, the Congress put forward Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Anand Sharma. Only Sharma has been included to the seven delegations that will be traveling to different nations out of the four.
According to news agency ANI, the government has added four Congress leaders to the delegations: Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, and Salman Khurshid. These leaders were not on the list that the Congress sent.
This, according to the Congress leader, demonstrates the “cheap political games” that the Narendra Modi government plays on important national matters and demonstrates its “complete insincerity”.
However, according to the opposition party, the four distinguished Congress MPs and leaders who were added at the Modi government’s request will accompany the delegations and contribute.
“The four eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions,” he stated.
“Congress will not compromise.”
The Congress would not descend to the pitiful level of the PM and the BJP, Ramesh declared. Unlike the BJP, it would never engage in partisan politics on matters of national security and will always respect the best traditions of parliamentary democracy.”
He added that the Congress wishes the delegations the best.
However, according to Ramesh, these delegations shouldn’t take focus away from the Congress’s requests for a special session of Parliament to restate the resolution passed on February 22, 1994, and for all-party meetings to be presided over by Modi, while also keeping an eye on any further developments.
Seven delegations
The seven teams will go to 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. They are led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP).
Each delegation is led by veteran diplomats and consists of seven or eight political figures.
Twenty of the 51 political leaders belong to non-NDA parties, while 31 are members of the current NDA.
Former Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Salman Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia are among the delegations; however, they are currently not members of parliament.
“Just one message, one mission. Just one Bharat. In a post on X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated, “Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism.”