NEW DELHI: The govt has dismissed Congress’s charge that it asked the opposition party to nominate four MPs for all-party delegations going abroad for anti-terror outreach , only to reject three of them.
Leader of opposition in LS Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were informed about the delegations only as a matter of courtesy, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said in his first formal response to Congress’s charge.
In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Rijiju also said asking parties to recommend their nominees had never been the practice. “We let them know as a matter of sheer courtesy,” he said.
Didn’t go by Congress’s internal dynamics: Rijiju
Seven delegations of MPs are headed to different parts of the world to sensitise global opinion on Pakistan’s continuing use of terrorism. Four Congress MPs are part of the teams; Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor heads one of the delegations.
Asked about Congress’s criticism of the choices from its ranks, Rijiju maintained that the govt went by who would be more suitable for the delegations’ mission. “We are surprised by the opposition to the nomination of their members like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari. The two have been essential voices from their side in any debate on foreign policy and matters related to national security . And it is not even a year since they recommended Tharoor to head the standing committee on external affairs,” the minister said.
Responding to the suggestion implied in Congress’s criticism that Tharoor and Tewari were picked to taunt the party leadership, Rijiju said, “This is an insinuation. We did not go by a party’s internal dynamics and the insecurity and jealousies that come with that. We also chose Salman Khurshid and Amar Singh, their MP from Punjab. What do you have to say about those?”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had criticised the govt for settling on the names of Tharoor and Tewari at the expense of Rahul Gandhi’s recommendations. “This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi govt and shows the cheap political games it always played on national issues,” he had said.
Congress believes Tharoor, formerly with the United Nations and also minister of state for external affairs, was chosen because he took a different line from the party on Operation Sindoor . His statement last week that he was proud of the operation came just when Congress had announced its plan to sharpen the charge that US President Donald Trump had brokered the ceasefire with Pakistan. When told that his views were at odds with Congress’s official line, the Thiruvananthapuram MP had said he was “speaking as a proud Indian”. Few were surprised when Rahul left him off the list that included Gaurav Gogoi, Anand Sharma, Raja Warring and Syed Naseer Hussain. The govt only accepted Sharma, former commerce minister.
BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya had defended the decision saying that three supporters of Hussain were arrested for shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” to celebrate his election to Rajya Sabha. Malviya had also questioned Congress’s choice of Gogoi, saying the Congress deputy leader in LS had spent 15 days in Pakistan, while his wife was involved with an NGO focused on Pakistan.
Leader of opposition in LS Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were informed about the delegations only as a matter of courtesy, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said in his first formal response to Congress’s charge.
In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Rijiju also said asking parties to recommend their nominees had never been the practice. “We let them know as a matter of sheer courtesy,” he said.
Didn’t go by Congress’s internal dynamics: Rijiju
Seven delegations of MPs are headed to different parts of the world to sensitise global opinion on Pakistan’s continuing use of terrorism. Four Congress MPs are part of the teams; Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor heads one of the delegations.
Asked about Congress’s criticism of the choices from its ranks, Rijiju maintained that the govt went by who would be more suitable for the delegations’ mission. “We are surprised by the opposition to the nomination of their members like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari. The two have been essential voices from their side in any debate on foreign policy and matters related to national security . And it is not even a year since they recommended Tharoor to head the standing committee on external affairs,” the minister said.
Responding to the suggestion implied in Congress’s criticism that Tharoor and Tewari were picked to taunt the party leadership, Rijiju said, “This is an insinuation. We did not go by a party’s internal dynamics and the insecurity and jealousies that come with that. We also chose Salman Khurshid and Amar Singh, their MP from Punjab. What do you have to say about those?”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had criticised the govt for settling on the names of Tharoor and Tewari at the expense of Rahul Gandhi’s recommendations. “This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi govt and shows the cheap political games it always played on national issues,” he had said.
Congress believes Tharoor, formerly with the United Nations and also minister of state for external affairs, was chosen because he took a different line from the party on Operation Sindoor . His statement last week that he was proud of the operation came just when Congress had announced its plan to sharpen the charge that US President Donald Trump had brokered the ceasefire with Pakistan. When told that his views were at odds with Congress’s official line, the Thiruvananthapuram MP had said he was “speaking as a proud Indian”. Few were surprised when Rahul left him off the list that included Gaurav Gogoi, Anand Sharma, Raja Warring and Syed Naseer Hussain. The govt only accepted Sharma, former commerce minister.
BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya had defended the decision saying that three supporters of Hussain were arrested for shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” to celebrate his election to Rajya Sabha. Malviya had also questioned Congress’s choice of Gogoi, saying the Congress deputy leader in LS had spent 15 days in Pakistan, while his wife was involved with an NGO focused on Pakistan.
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