Senior politician and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday declined to comment on the recent objections raised by the his party regarding the government delegations being sent to foreign countries for an anti-terror campaign.
Speaking to reporters after the parliamentary briefing led by foreign secretary Vikram Misri, the Congress leader said that he is "not going to say anything" regarding the matter.
Shashi Tharoor was chosen by the ruling-NDA government to lead one of the seven all-party delegations. The delegations have been established to carry India's message of zero-tolerance against terrorism to the world following the April 22 Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
The seven delegations have been tasked to visit foreign capitals to strengthen India's stance against terrorism, following the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan.
What did Shashi Tharoor say?
As per news agency ANI, the Congress MP stated he will not be revealing any information regarding the all-party delegation.
"The briefing for my delegation is going to be only on Friday. So, honestly, I am not going to say anything right now. Some of the teams are leaving earlier and that's why they need to have their meeting tomorrow. But our delegation is leaving a bit later because the US has a big Memorial Day weekend and the Congress in the US is not session until 2nd June. So, there is no point in arriving there too early. So, we are arriving later and leaving later...24th May, I believe (when his delegation will leave)...We are going first to Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"The briefing for my delegation is going to be only on Friday. So, honestly, I am not going to say anything right now. Some of the teams are leaving earlier and that's why they need to have their meeting tomorrow. But our delegation is leaving a bit later because the US has a big Memorial Day weekend and the Congress in the US is not session until 2nd June. So, there is no point in arriving there too early. So, we are arriving later and leaving later...24th May, I believe (when his delegation will leave)...We are going first to Georgetown (Guyana), Panama, Columbia, Brazil and then finally to the US," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}Congress, TMC object to BJP's choice for delegations
The Congress and the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) have objected to the picking on party MPs by the central government, claiming that names given by the parties were not picked by Centre.
Shashi Tharoor and two other Congress MPs had not been named in the list, Congress claimed.
Furthermore, the TMC has also raised its concerns regarding the selection and alleged appointment of party MPs without its consultation.
“How can the Union government decide on the representative of Trinamool. They should have held discussions with the Opposition to decide which representative a party will send? How can the BJP decide which representative Trinamool will send?" TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee told media. The Lok Sabha MP's statement comes after TMC MP and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan was named as one of the members of the zero-terrorism delegation.