ETV Bharat / bharat

Congress Backs Diplomatic Outreach But Alleges Centre Playing Politics

The grand old party is miffed over the rejection of names and arbitrary inclusions for the all-party delegations by the government.

Congress
Congress (ETV Bharat)
author img

By Amit Agnihotri

Published : May 18, 2025 at 5:37 PM IST

Updated : May 18, 2025 at 8:30 PM IST

5 Min Read

New Delhi: The Congress was miffed with the Centre which included only one of the four names suggested by the party and picked up three additional MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad as part of Mission Sindoor but still decided to show restraint and back the diplomatic outreach for the sake of national unity.

However, the Congress said that it will keep demanding a special session of parliament to discuss the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its fallout while reminding the government that its diplomatic outreach should focus on terrorism and not Kashmir.

On Friday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and asked them to submit names of 4 MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.

By noon the same day, Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and gave the names of Anand Sharma, former union minister, Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, ⁠Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, MP Rajya Sabha and Amarinder Raja Brar, MP Lok Sabha.

But the grand old party was miffed when the full list of the MPs going abroad was put out by the government on Saturday evening in which the name of only Anand Sharma had been included. The Congress was further miffed that the government rejected the names of Gaurav Gogoi, Amarinder Raja Brar and Syed Naseer Hussain and included the names of three senior Congress leaders on its own, former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari and Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh.

According to party insiders, Khurshid had told the high command that he had been invited by the government but would go with the party’s decision unlike Tharoor, who had welcomed the inclusion of his name. Tewari too was of the opinion that he would like to go on a mission to counter Pakistan for the sake of national interest. On Saturday, the inclusion of Shashi Tharoor as head of one of the seven delegations announced by the Centre set off a discussion within the Congress circles as the grand old party had not recommended the name of the Kerala MP.

According to party insiders, the high command was upset over the Centre’s moves but decided to show restraint and back the diplomatic outreach going by the national sentiment.

“The Congress always keeps national interest in mind. We have given full support to the government over Operation Sindoor but would not shy away from asking relevant questions. It is unfortunate that the government is playing petty politics over the issue of all-party delegations. It first asked the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for four names but rejected three out of them. Further, they included some names on their own. If that had to be done there was no need to consult the Lop. In rejecting the names suggested by him, the centre disrespected the office of the Lop”, AICC secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Chandan Yadav told ETV Bharat.

“The centre also violated the long-standing parliamentary norm whereby respective parties decide the names of MPs who would represent them during a debate. Neither the government, nor the chairs of the two houses in parliament decide the names of the speakers from the opposition benches. Then why was it done in the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to build public opinion against Pakistan. I don’t think the government should have played politics over such an issue as the entire opposition had backed the Centre to avenge the Pahalgam terror attacks. We stood by the government when it was needed but there are a lot of issues that need to be clarified,” he said.

According to senior Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit, there was no need for the government to reject or include names of Congress leaders as every member of the all-party delegations would have only articulated the government’s stand.

“Ideally, the government should stick to the names suggested by the party. Going beyond that is like playing politics over a sensitive issue and is divisive. I too have been part of such delegations. During such visits, all the lawmakers are briefed by the government and only articulate that position whatever be the issue. Though most of the public opinion shaping abroad is done by experienced bureaucrats, the presence of the lawmakers adds to the diplomatic effort and makes the outreach more effective. Therefore, whoever would have gone would have toed the official line,” Dikshit told ETV Bharat.

According to the Congress veteran, now that the Centre had the backing of the grand old party the focus of the government should be on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and not Kashmir, which Islamabad wants to flag.

“The Congress has shown restraint and is backing the diplomatic outreach as it is good for the nation. We are supporting the government as the national sentiment created after the Pahalgam terror attack is unprecedented. But we will continue to ask the relevant questions including on identifying and punishing the killers of 26 innocent tourists in Pahalgam and the sudden ceasefire after the launch of Operation Sindoor which took place due to the US intervention. Besides seeking a special session of parliament to seek answers to all the questions, we should also flag these issues in public. The main concern is how to ensure such misadventure by Pakistan is not repeated in the future,” said Dikshit.

New Delhi: The Congress was miffed with the Centre which included only one of the four names suggested by the party and picked up three additional MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad as part of Mission Sindoor but still decided to show restraint and back the diplomatic outreach for the sake of national unity.

However, the Congress said that it will keep demanding a special session of parliament to discuss the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its fallout while reminding the government that its diplomatic outreach should focus on terrorism and not Kashmir.

On Friday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and asked them to submit names of 4 MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.

By noon the same day, Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and gave the names of Anand Sharma, former union minister, Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, ⁠Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, MP Rajya Sabha and Amarinder Raja Brar, MP Lok Sabha.

But the grand old party was miffed when the full list of the MPs going abroad was put out by the government on Saturday evening in which the name of only Anand Sharma had been included. The Congress was further miffed that the government rejected the names of Gaurav Gogoi, Amarinder Raja Brar and Syed Naseer Hussain and included the names of three senior Congress leaders on its own, former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari and Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh.

According to party insiders, Khurshid had told the high command that he had been invited by the government but would go with the party’s decision unlike Tharoor, who had welcomed the inclusion of his name. Tewari too was of the opinion that he would like to go on a mission to counter Pakistan for the sake of national interest. On Saturday, the inclusion of Shashi Tharoor as head of one of the seven delegations announced by the Centre set off a discussion within the Congress circles as the grand old party had not recommended the name of the Kerala MP.

According to party insiders, the high command was upset over the Centre’s moves but decided to show restraint and back the diplomatic outreach going by the national sentiment.

“The Congress always keeps national interest in mind. We have given full support to the government over Operation Sindoor but would not shy away from asking relevant questions. It is unfortunate that the government is playing petty politics over the issue of all-party delegations. It first asked the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for four names but rejected three out of them. Further, they included some names on their own. If that had to be done there was no need to consult the Lop. In rejecting the names suggested by him, the centre disrespected the office of the Lop”, AICC secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Chandan Yadav told ETV Bharat.

“The centre also violated the long-standing parliamentary norm whereby respective parties decide the names of MPs who would represent them during a debate. Neither the government, nor the chairs of the two houses in parliament decide the names of the speakers from the opposition benches. Then why was it done in the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to build public opinion against Pakistan. I don’t think the government should have played politics over such an issue as the entire opposition had backed the Centre to avenge the Pahalgam terror attacks. We stood by the government when it was needed but there are a lot of issues that need to be clarified,” he said.

According to senior Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit, there was no need for the government to reject or include names of Congress leaders as every member of the all-party delegations would have only articulated the government’s stand.

“Ideally, the government should stick to the names suggested by the party. Going beyond that is like playing politics over a sensitive issue and is divisive. I too have been part of such delegations. During such visits, all the lawmakers are briefed by the government and only articulate that position whatever be the issue. Though most of the public opinion shaping abroad is done by experienced bureaucrats, the presence of the lawmakers adds to the diplomatic effort and makes the outreach more effective. Therefore, whoever would have gone would have toed the official line,” Dikshit told ETV Bharat.

According to the Congress veteran, now that the Centre had the backing of the grand old party the focus of the government should be on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and not Kashmir, which Islamabad wants to flag.

“The Congress has shown restraint and is backing the diplomatic outreach as it is good for the nation. We are supporting the government as the national sentiment created after the Pahalgam terror attack is unprecedented. But we will continue to ask the relevant questions including on identifying and punishing the killers of 26 innocent tourists in Pahalgam and the sudden ceasefire after the launch of Operation Sindoor which took place due to the US intervention. Besides seeking a special session of parliament to seek answers to all the questions, we should also flag these issues in public. The main concern is how to ensure such misadventure by Pakistan is not repeated in the future,” said Dikshit.

Last Updated : May 18, 2025 at 8:30 PM IST
ETV Bharat Logo

Copyright © 2025 Ushodaya Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., All Rights Reserved.