The Congress on Saturday criticised the Narendra Modi-led government, alleging "complete insincerity" and accusing it of engaging in "cheap political games" after only one of the four party leaders it nominated was included in diplomatic delegations being dispatched abroad to present India&rsquo;s position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Responding to a request from the government on the morning of May 16, the Congress had submitted the names of four MPs &mdash; Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring &mdash; for inclusion in the seven all-party delegations.&nbsp;
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, conveyed the names in writing to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju by noon on the same day.
Despite the submission, only Anand Sharma was selected in the final list of 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers who will travel to global capitals and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels as part of &ldquo;Operation Sindoor&rdquo;, an initiative aimed at conveying India&rsquo;s stance against terrorism.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh stated, &ldquo;On May 16th morning, the Modi government asked for four names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the Congress in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He added, &ldquo;These four names were conveyed in writing by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, by noon on May 16.&rdquo;
Ramesh further noted, &ldquo;Very late tonight (May 17th), the full list of members of all delegations has been officially released. Most regrettably, only one of the four names suggested by the INC leadership has been included.&rdquo;
&ldquo;This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi government and shows the cheap political games it always plays on serious national issues,&rdquo; Ramesh said.
Despite the exclusion of three of its suggested names, the Congress confirmed that the four party leaders who were included in the delegations at the government&rsquo;s insistence &mdash; Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, and Salman Khurshid &mdash; will participate and contribute to the effort.
Ramesh remarked, &ldquo;The four eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the insistence of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.&rdquo;
He added, &ldquo;The Congress 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.&rdquo; He also said, &ldquo;The Congress wishes the delegations all the very best.&rdquo;
Ramesh cautioned that the outreach effort should not divert attention from the Congress party&rsquo;s demands for an all-party meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and for a special session of Parliament to reaffirm the resolution adopted on February 22, 1994, while also addressing subsequent developments.
Seven delegations are being led by Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar). These delegations will visit 32 countries and the EU headquarters.
Each delegation comprises seven to eight political figures and will be supported by former diplomats. Out of the 51 individuals selected, 31 belong to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while the remaining 20 are from parties outside the NDA.
The list of delegation members includes former Union Ministers who are not currently members of Parliament &mdash; Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Salman Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote in a post on X, &ldquo;One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism.&rdquo;
The Congress also objected to the appointment of Shashi Tharoor as the head of one of the delegations, alleging that the move demonstrated a &ldquo;mischievous&rdquo; approach and was politically motivated.
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(Left) Kiren Rijiju and Jairam Ramesh (Right)

Congress alleges political bias as only one of its four nominated leaders joins anti-terror global delegations.

Only One Congress Nominee in Terror Delegations

Congress alleges political bias as only one of its four nominated leaders joins anti-terror global delegations.

May 18, 2025 | 10:51 IST