The Congress party criticized the government on Saturday because out of the four people Congress suggested to be part of diplomatic groups sent abroad, only one was selected.
There are seven groups made up of 51 political leaders, former ministers, and parliamentarians from different parties. These groups will visit many countries to talk about India’s fight against terrorism, especially after Operation Sindoor.
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What Congress Said
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared on X (formerly Twitter) that on May 16, the Modi government asked Congress to send four names of their leaders to join these groups abroad and explain India’s stand on terrorism.
Congress sent the names of four leaders—Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring—by noon on May 16.
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…
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 17, 2025
But when the full list of delegation members was released late on May 17, only one of these four, Anand Sharma, was included.
Shashi Tharoor Not Nominated by Congress
The government included some other Congress leaders—Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, and Salman Khurshid—who were not on the list Congress had sent.
Jairam Ramesh said this shows that the Modi government is not sincere and is playing political games on serious national matters.
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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…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 17, 2025
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However, Congress said the four leaders picked by the government will still go on the delegations and contribute.
Congress Stands Firm
Ramesh said Congress will not stoop to the level of the Prime Minister and BJP, who they say are playing party politics on national security issues.
He wished the delegations good luck but said the delegations should not distract from Congress’s demand for an all-party meeting led by the Prime Minister and a special session of Parliament to discuss terrorism again.
About the Delegations
There are seven delegations led by leaders from different parties, including Baijayant Panda (BJP), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP).
These groups will visit 32 countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Each group has seven or eight political leaders and former diplomats helping them.
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Out of the 51 leaders, 31 belong to the ruling NDA alliance, and 20 are from other parties.
Some former Union Ministers who are not currently MPs, like Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Salman Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia, are also part of these delegations.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on X, “One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, showing our united stand against terrorism.”
