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Did Congress insult Shashi Tharoor amid foreign outreach row? What he said
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he informed his party after receiving a call from Union Minister Kiren Rijiju about the offer to lead one of the delegations.
Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been chosen by the Centre to lead one of the seven multi-party delegations for diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, reacted to accepting the offer and said “I see no politics in it”.
Tharoor also denied having any knowledge about the names that Congress had suggested for the delegation, which did not include him. It said it was between Congress and the Centre, reported PTI.
‘I know my worth’
Shashi Tharoor said he “immediately agreed” after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju recently officially invited him to lead the delegation in view of his past experience in handling foreign affairs.
"I see no politics in it. According to me, politics become important when we have a nation. We all are Indians. When the nation is in crisis and the central government seeks the help of a citizen, what other answer would you give," PTI quoted Tharoor as saying.
"We all need to have a role in what the world is saying about us…It is in that spirit I agreed to it," he added.
Tharoor also said he informed the party after he received a call from Rijiju about the offer.
When asked whether the party was unhappy or had any reservations about him leading one the delegations, Tharoor said, "You will have to ask them (Congress)."
After Tharoor’s name was announced, Congress released the names of four leaders it had suggested to be part of the delegations and expressed discontent over only one of them being included. The names did not include Tharoor. Responding to a question about whether Congress was trying to insult him by doing so, Tharoor said, "I know my worth."
The Congress MP further said that when the country is attacked, "all of us speaking in one voice and standing united is good for the nation, according to me".
The team led by Tharoor comprises Shambhavi (LJP-RV), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneshwar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu. It will travel to the US, Panama, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil to put forth India’s stance against terrorism state-sponsored by Pakistan in view of ‘Operation Sindoor’.
The Congress on Saturday claimed that it had given the names of four party leaders to be selected as part of the all-party delegation - Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Out of them, only Anand Sharma was selected.
With PTI inputs
