NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday refuted Union minister Kiren Rijiju ’s claim that the parties were not asked to nominate MPs for the all-party delegation as part of India's Operation Sindoor global outreach. The party dismissed the parliamentary affairs minister's remark, terming it "an absolute lie".
This comes after parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed the Congress’s allegation that the government had asked the opposition party to nominate four MPs for the all-party delegations, only to reject three of them.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reiterated the party’s position, stating that Rijiju had a conversation with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on the morning of May 16, after which four names were proposed by the party.
"That is a lie — a LIE — an absolute lie. He had a conversation on the morning of May 16 with the Congress President and Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and following that conversation, the latter wrote to Mr Rijiju suggesting four names," Ramesh said.
"At no point did the Modi government extend the courtesy to Congress to say, ‘These are the four names we have selected. What do you have to say about them?’" he added.
Ramesh also criticised Rijiju for commenting on the internal dynamics of the Congress, saying, "There is no question of internal dynamics. In 2008, Dr. Manmohan Singh and his advisors consulted all political parties — that’s how delegations were formed. In the 1990s, when Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the BJP leader and PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister, they consulted each other."
"We cannot have one narrative outside and another inside. What message are we sending out from India? A nationalism based on prejudice, bigotry, hate, poison, and communal tensions — is this the image we want to project to the world?" he questioned.
Earlier, Rijiju claimed that Kharge and Gandhi were informed about the delegations only as a matter of courtesy and said that it had never been the standard practice to ask parties to recommend nominees.
“We informed them purely out of courtesy,” Rijiju said.
“We’re surprised at the opposition to the inclusion of their own members, like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari. These individuals have been key voices on foreign policy and national security. It was just last year that the Congress supported Tharoor’s nomination to head the Standing Committee on External Affairs,” he added.
The Congress had claimed that the government requested it to submit names of four leaders for the all-party delegations being sent abroad to articulate India’s stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism. The party nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
However, only Anand Sharma was included in the final list of seven delegations visiting various countries.
These delegations, consisting of 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers from different parties, are tasked with presenting India’s strong position against terrorism, particularly in the context of Operation Sindoor.
The delegations will be led by Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP). They are scheduled to visit 32 countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Each delegation includes seven to eight political leaders and is supported by former diplomats. Of the 51 leaders, 31 represent the ruling NDA coalition, while 20 are from non-NDA parties.
This comes after parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed the Congress’s allegation that the government had asked the opposition party to nominate four MPs for the all-party delegations, only to reject three of them.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reiterated the party’s position, stating that Rijiju had a conversation with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on the morning of May 16, after which four names were proposed by the party.
"That is a lie — a LIE — an absolute lie. He had a conversation on the morning of May 16 with the Congress President and Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and following that conversation, the latter wrote to Mr Rijiju suggesting four names," Ramesh said.
"At no point did the Modi government extend the courtesy to Congress to say, ‘These are the four names we have selected. What do you have to say about them?’" he added.
Ramesh also criticised Rijiju for commenting on the internal dynamics of the Congress, saying, "There is no question of internal dynamics. In 2008, Dr. Manmohan Singh and his advisors consulted all political parties — that’s how delegations were formed. In the 1990s, when Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the BJP leader and PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister, they consulted each other."
"We cannot have one narrative outside and another inside. What message are we sending out from India? A nationalism based on prejudice, bigotry, hate, poison, and communal tensions — is this the image we want to project to the world?" he questioned.
Earlier, Rijiju claimed that Kharge and Gandhi were informed about the delegations only as a matter of courtesy and said that it had never been the standard practice to ask parties to recommend nominees.
“We informed them purely out of courtesy,” Rijiju said.
“We’re surprised at the opposition to the inclusion of their own members, like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari. These individuals have been key voices on foreign policy and national security. It was just last year that the Congress supported Tharoor’s nomination to head the Standing Committee on External Affairs,” he added.
The Congress had claimed that the government requested it to submit names of four leaders for the all-party delegations being sent abroad to articulate India’s stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism. The party nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
However, only Anand Sharma was included in the final list of seven delegations visiting various countries.
These delegations, consisting of 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers from different parties, are tasked with presenting India’s strong position against terrorism, particularly in the context of Operation Sindoor.
The delegations will be led by Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP). They are scheduled to visit 32 countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Each delegation includes seven to eight political leaders and is supported by former diplomats. Of the 51 leaders, 31 represent the ruling NDA coalition, while 20 are from non-NDA parties.
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