Moments after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the broad structure of the plan on Saturday, revealing that seven delegations would be sent, Shashi Tharoor accepted the government’s invitation to lead one of them.
The twist came later when Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh revealed that the party president had submitted four names to the government for inclusion in the multi-party delegation: Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Nasir Hussain, and Raja Brar.
Though Tharoor did not figure in the list nominated by his party, he accepted the government 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!” he said in a post on X.
Jairam Ramesh, however, tweeted a list of Congress MPs in which Tharoor did not feature. The Tribune reliably learned on Friday that the government had discussed four names with the Congress for the tour: Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid, and Amar Singh. Tewari and Khurshid were both to lead two of the seven delegations, but the Congress chose not to nominate them.
“Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India’s stance on terrorism from Pakistan.
His post followed Rijiju’s announcement about the plan on Saturday morning.
“All-party delegations to carry forth to the world India’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism… In the context of Operation Sindoor and India’s continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven All-Party Delegations are set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council later this month,” said Rijiju.
“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. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation,” said the minister.
Sule also accepted the invitation.
