New Delhi: Congress has sent the names of its four MPs to the government to join the delegation to be sent abroad to present India’s stand before the world on the issue of terrorism. These include the name of Gaurav Gogoi from Assam. Seeing his name in the Congress list, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has hit back. Sarma tweeted, “An MP included in the list has not denied staying in Pakistan for a long time. He has reportedly been in Pakistan for two weeks. Credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India.” Sarma further said, “In the interest of national security and beyond party politics, I urge Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi not to include this person in such a sensitive and strategic work.”
Earlier, Congress Communication Department chief Jairam Ramesh gave this information and said that the party has sent the names of two members each from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to join this delegation. He said that the names of the MPs sent by the party for the delegation include former Union Minister Anand Sharma, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha MPs Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain and Raja Brar. He said that yesterday morning Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju spoke to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and urged the Congress to give the names of four MPs of the party for the delegations to be sent abroad.
The names had been sent by the Congress to the government by yesterday afternoon to make clear India’s stand on terrorism from Pakistan. The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including member countries of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India’s message of zero tolerance towards terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and ‘Operation Sindoor’. A statement issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on Saturday said, “The all-party delegations will project India’s national consensus and firm approach to deal with all forms of terrorism. They will take the country’s strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism to the world. The government has carefully selected leaders from various political parties for the delegation, who are considered outspoken.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Janata Dal United (JDU) MP Sanjay Jha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s Kanimozhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde will lead seven separate delegations. Of these, four leaders are from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) while three are from the opposition ‘INDIA’ (Bharatiya National Development Inclusive Alliance) alliance. Each delegation is likely to visit around five countries, sources said.
Each delegation will comprise distinguished diplomats, the ministry statement said. “In the context of Operation Sindoor and India’s ongoing fight against cross-border terrorism, the delegations will visit five countries,” the statement said. At the United Nations, seven all-party delegations will visit key countries and hold meetings with partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month.
