NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suddenly decided to send multi-party delegations of MPs to foreign countries in an attempt to divert attention from mounting criticism and questions about his leadership.
The Congress leader claimed that the move comes at a time when the prime minister's global image has taken a hit.
In a social media post marking the 34th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ramesh said that the practice of sending MPs from various parties to the United Nations in New York every October-November had been in place since the 1950s. However, he noted that this tradition was halted after Modi took office in 2014.
"Now, desperate and facing serious questions, with his image globally shattered, Mr. Modi has suddenly revived the idea of all-party MP delegations abroad to deflect attention," Ramesh wrote.
Paying tribute to Rajiv Gandhi, Ramesh said what he described as Gandhi’s "humanity, goodness, and decency"—traits he claimed were missing in the current prime minister.
He also shared a video of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee recalling how Rajiv Gandhi ensured Vajpayee was included in a UN delegation so he could receive medical treatment overseas at government expense, despite being a political rival.
Earlier this week, Congress had taken a swipe at Prime Minister Modi with Ramesh saying the same prime minister who had abused the Congress publicly in countries such as Australia, the US, South Korea and China, was taking the help of the opposition party in these delegations.
(With inputs from PTI)