Shashi Tharoor’s name in delegation against terror sparks friction in Congress
Even as the Congress didn’t nominate Shashi Tharoor as its representative, the government announced him as one of the leaders of the seven delegations
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s plan to send multi-party delegations to different countries to speak against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has sparked a fresh confrontation between the Centre and the Congress party. Even as the Congress didn’t nominate Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor as its representative, the government went ahead and announced Tharoor as one of the leaders of the seven delegations.
Tharoor on Saturday tweeted to announce he was honoured by the government’s invitation. “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. Jai Hind!” Tharoor said.
It is not immediately known what the Congress will now do as the delegations will be travelling across the world to speak against Pakistan-sponsored terror—an issue that has united the entire country.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju announced the leaders of the seven delegations and 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.”
While Rijiju tweeted the name of Tharoor and six other leaders at 9.28 am on Saturday, Congress’ chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh posted at 10.09 am: “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 Pakistan.”
“By noon yesterday May 16th, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs giving the following names on behalf of the INC. 1. Shri Anand Sharma, former Union Cabinet Minister 2. Shri Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader, INC LS 3. Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, MP, RS 4. Shri Raja Brar, MP, LS,” he added.
Ramesh’s tweet signalled that the party had not approved Tharoor’s selection.
However, later he said the Congress party will not change the names in its list. When asked if Congress will take any action against Tharoor, he said it’s too far-fetched at this moment.
The rift had been widening between the Congress and its working committee (CWC) member Tharoor for the past few months. On several diplomatic and security issues including the Pahalgam terror attack, Tharoor’s line has been different from the Congress and often supportive of the Union government. Two weeks ago, the Congress issued a gag order and announced that the remarks of the two leaders of Opposition—Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi—and a few authorised leaders should be considered as the party’s views.
Tharoor retorted that he was speaking as an Indian and he is not a spokesperson of any party.
People familiar with the matter said Rijiju had asked Kharge to nominate a few leaders, but his office separately approached senior Congress leaders such as Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma, Salman Khurshid and Tharoor.
One of the senior leaders who was directly approached by the government told HT that these are issues of national interest and there are no party whips (to follow party lines) over joining a delegation.
A senior Congress leader said when Kharge consulted Rahul Gandhi over the government’s proposal to nominate leaders for the delegation that will visit various international capitals, Gandhi initially insisted that the party should pick leaders of its own choice and not adhere to the government’s wish list.
