The Congress hit out at the government on Saturday after the latter allegedly selected only one out of four nominees suggested by the party to be part of diplomatic delegations.

It’s reported that 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers from across party lines will be part of the seven delegations travelling to world capitals to promote India’s resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.

What did the Congress say

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post X on Saturday that on the morning of May 16, “the Modi govt asked for four names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the INC in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India’ stance on terrorism from Pakistan.”

“These four names were conveyed in writing by the LoP Lok Sabha to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by 12 noon on May 16th itself,” Ramesh said.

He added, “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.”\

Shashi Tharoor not nominated by Congress

Ramesh said the Congress nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Of the four, only Sharma has been included in the seven delegations that will be visiting various countries.

Four Congress leaders — Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and Salman Khurshid — who were not part of the list forwarded by the Congress have been included in the delegations by the government, news agency ANI reported.

The Congress leader said this proves the “complete insincerity” of the Narendra Modi government and shows the “cheap political games” it plays on serious national issues.

The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will go with the delegations and make their contributions.

“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 said.

‘Congress will not stoop’

Ramesh said, “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.”

The Congress wishes the delegations all the very best, he added.

Ramesh said these delegations should not, however, divert attention from the Congress’ demands to have all-party meetings chaired by Modi and for a special session of Parliament to reiterate the resolution adopted on February 22, 1994, while also taking note of developments thereafter.

Seven delegations

The seven delegations, 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), will visit 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Each delegation comprises seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats.

Of the 51 political leaders, 31 are part of the ruling NDA, while the remaining 20 are from the non-NDA parties.

The delegations include former Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Salman Khurshid, S S Ahluwalia, who are not members of parliament at present.

“One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X.

The selection of Tharoor to head one of the delegations was frowned upon by the Congress, which accused the government of playing politics with a “mischievous” mindset.