Govt names 59 for multi-party delegations; only one of four suggested by Cong accepted

New Delhi: Government on Saturday night announced 59 names for seven multi-party delegations  it will be sending abroad to explain India’s stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, after rejecting three of the four names suggested by the Congress and choosing four leaders on its own from the main opposition party.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who did not figure in the official Congress list, was made the leader of a delegation headed to the United States, Panama, Guyana, Brazil and Colombia while Punjab MP Amar Singh is in the delegation led by BJP's Ravishankar Prasad going to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, European Union, Italy and Denmark.

Salman Khurshid, a former External Affairs Minister in UPA government, has been made part of the delegation going to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore while senior MP Manish Tewari and former Union Minister Anand Sharma will be headed to Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, South Africa.

Of this, Congress had recommended only Sharma's name for being part of the government exercise to drum up support for India. The government rejected the names of Congress Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Syed Naseer Hussain and Punjab MP Raja Brar, setting stage for a confrontation with the Congress.

Of the 59 members, which includes eight diplomats, 21 belong to the BJP while Congress has five members, TDP 3 and AAP 2 and Shiv Sena 2. Other parties, including DMK, Samajwadi Party, CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress, have one each.

In the morning, the government had announced the leaders for the delegations, including Tharoor. A “surprised” Congress then accused the government of “playing games” with a “mischievous mindset” and said the government “should not add a name in such delegations without consulting the party”, especially “when we were asked for names and it was given in good faith”. I

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs named the leaders of the delegations in a statement, with Tharoor on top of the list followed by Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JD-U), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP) and Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena).

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “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.”

As the government announced the list of delegation leaders though it did not provide names of members, a fuming Congress expressed its disappointment with the government over nominating a Congress MP as delegation leader “without any consultation with the party”.

General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the party recommended four names after Rijiju spoke with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday morning. However, he did not elaborate on the omission of Tharoor.

“The Congress was asked to submit names of four MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan,” Ramesh said, adding “by noon yesterday (Friday)...the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha wrote” to Rijiju with the names. He said the party will not reconsider these names but at the same time will not take action against others.

It is “dishonest” and “downright mischievous” to ask for names “when in all probability, they had decided the names even before that”, he said, adding they were surprised by the announcement. Tharoor said in Thiruvananthapuram that he received a call from Rijiju “two days ago (Thursday) while Ramesh claimed that the Minister telephoned Kharge and Rahul only on Friday.

A little later, Tharoor posted on ‘X', “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.”

When asked about Tharoor’s participation, Ramesh refused to give a direct answer but said the party has given four names. “Congress mein hona aur Congress ka hona mein zameen-aasmaan ka antar hai (There is a huge difference between being in the Congress and of the Congress),” he said taking a swipe at Tharoor.

Ramesh said, “we have been demanding an all-party meeting (after the ceasefire announcement). On two previous occasions, the PM did not come. He has not acceded to our demand for a special session. Suddenly, we hear about these multi-party delegations because the government’s narrative has been punctured with the hyphenation of India-Pakistan.”

The Congress choices, including that surprise inclusion of former Union Minister Anand Sharma, came at a time the party feels that Tharoor has crossed the “Lakshman Rekha” with his praise of the government while the party has raised questions on Operation Sindoor and ceasefire announcement.