NEW DELHI: A day after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan, named by the Centre as part of a global outreach delegation, opted out of the team, the party announced that Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee will represent TMC in the delegation that will travel to key countries to present India’s position on terrorism.
It was learnt that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to pacify her and sought her suggestion for a representative from the AITC.
Rijiju informed Banerjee that the government should have consulted the party.
However, on Monday, Rijiju stated that the government had not sought names from political parties for the multi-party delegations.
“No party was asked to suggest names for the multi-party delegations rallying global support for India’s war against terror originating from Pakistan,” Rijiju said.
The development followed Mamata Banerjee’s strong criticism of the Centre for unilaterally selecting the party's nominee for the delegations.
“The parliamentary party discusses the bills in Parliament. It takes decisions regarding Parliament, and that too, after consulting with the party. I am the chairperson of the parliamentary party in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” said the Chief Minister. “However, we are never informed. We will send a representative if they inform us. Why wouldn’t we? There is no point of controversy here. We are fully with the government,” she added.
Banerjee clarified that her party was not boycotting the Centre’s multi-party diplomatic mission aimed at countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and would send its representatives once a formal request is received from the Centre.
Abhishek Banerjee, meanwhile, said, “The Centre cannot unilaterally decide who will represent which party. This has to be decided by the respective party leadership."
“Trinamool will send its members, but if you don’t ask, how can we send? As the party’s National General Secretary, I am putting this straight on record: no one approached us. They didn’t even approach our Chairperson. What is the proof that they’ve contacted us? If you want to send parliamentarians, fine, but you should also send those who fought on the frontlines during Operation Sindoor. They will be able to better explain to the world what Pakistan has done. And I am totally for that — the entire world should know Pakistan’s nefarious acts. We need to come together and fight this collectively. But who should represent our party must be decided by us, not the BJP,” he told the media.
Pathan was originally part of the delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha, which is scheduled to visit Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore. According to sources, the government had chosen Pathan after Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandopadhyay opted out, citing health reasons.
Earlier, the Congress also launched a scathing attack on the government for rejecting the three leaders it had suggested for the multi-party delegation.
The government has named senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Punjab MP Amar Singh, Salman Khurshid, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, and former Union Minister Anand Sharma as members of the delegation.
The Congress stated that it had nominated four MPs — Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring — as requested by the government. However, except for Anand Sharma, the others were not included in the government’s final list.
Fifty-one political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers from across party lines will be part of seven delegations traveling to world capitals to highlight India’s resolve to tackle terrorism in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
