The process of nominating members to all-party delegations, which will meet key global partners to convey a united message of India’s zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor, got caught in partisan politics on Saturday (May 17, 2025) as the government ignored three of the four names suggested by the Congress.
Differences first emerged when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju named Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as one of the leaders of the seven all-party delegations, while Mr. Tharoor was not nominated by his own party. The all-party delegations are expected to travel to as many as 35 capitals across the globe to explain India’s stance.
“In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences,” Mr. Rijiju said in a post on X.
However, the claim of unity was short-lived as Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh accused the Narendra Modi government of being “dishonest and playing games with a mischievous mindset” by leaving out most of the names given by the party.
Mr. Ramesh also added that the government came up with the idea of sending all-party delegations as the narrative of India becoming a vishwaguru [world leader] under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “failed”.
The Congress communications chief noted that after Mr. Rijiju had spoken to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday morning, his party sent the names of former Union Minister Anand Sharma, party’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain and Lok Sabha member Amrinder Singh Raja Warring to be part of the delegations.
But before speaking to the Congress leadership, Mr. Rijiju had informally reached out to the Congress’s Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid, Amar Singh, and Mr. Tharoor. None of them had figured in the Congress’s official list.
In the final list released by the government late on Saturday night, all of them were included. From the Congress’ official list, only Mr. Sharma’s name figured on the government list. Mr. Gogoi, against whom Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had a lodged a strong protest, Mr. Hussain and Mr. Warring were all dropped.
Responding to the final list, Mr. Ramesh said it showed the “cheap political games the Modi government has played 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,” he said on X.
Mr. Rijiju’s announcement also brought Congress’s fault lines to the fore as Mr. Tharoor took to social media to accept the Centre’s invitation.
“I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nation’s point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!,” Mr. Tharoor, whose delegation will visit the U.S. besides other South American countries like Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Guyana, posted on X.
In a swipe at Mr. Tharoor, Mr. Ramesh said, “Congress mein hona aur Congress ka hona mein zameen-aasmaan ka antar hai [There is a world of difference between being in the Congress and being of the Congress].”
Earlier, Mr. Rijiju had announced Mr. Tharoor’s name as one of the seven heads of the all-party delegations. Others include the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad and Jai Panda, DMK’s Kanimozhi, Janata Dal (United)’s Sanjay Jha, Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule, and the Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde.
A statement of the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said that the all-party delegations will project India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
“They would carry forth to the world the country’s strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism,” it said. The statement also said that distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. Sources added that every delegation, with six to seven MPs, may visit around five countries.
The government had also reached out to Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay but he declined due to health reasons.
Other MPs the government has nominated include Anurag Thakur, Aparajita Sarangi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Asaduddin Owaisi, Mr. Tewari, Priyanka Chaturvedi, John Brittas, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Mr. Amar Singh, Vikramjit Sawhney, Samik Bhattacharya, Brij Lal, Sasmit Patra among others.
“You cannot include names of MPs (in delegations) without consulting the party. In a democratic system, when individual MPs are sent on an official delegation, MPs should seek the concurrence of the party,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Mr. Ramesh further claimed that Mr. Rijiju didn’t mention Mr. Tharoor, Mr. Tewari, Mr. Khurishid or anyone else in his conversation with the Congress leadership.
The Congress as well as the CPI(M) also reiterated their demand to have a special session of Parliament.
Mr. Ramesh accused accused the government of playing “Narad Muni politics” and alleged that the whole delegation exercise is a “diversionary and cosmetic exercise”.
“Asking for four names, being given four names and not considering those names is dishonesty on the part of the government. We will not change these four names,” he said.
It isn’t clear if the government would accept the names of the Congress or go ahead with the ones it had chosen earlier. Each group, however, has been assigned different countries as part of the outreach initiative.
Mr. Prasad’s delegation is expected to visit key countries like the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and the European Union. Mr. Panda’s delegation will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria, while Ms. Sule’s team of MPs will be travelling to Oman, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. The delegation led by Mr. Jha is likely to visit Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population, while Mr. Shinde-led delegation is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates and parts of Africa.
Published – May 17, 2025 10:24 pm IST
