'The Congress submitted four names to the government as the people who should accompany the delegation.'
'I don't know what happened to those names.'
'When I was approached, I told them to speak to my party.'
'I have no further involvement with this delegation.'
Former external affairs minister and former CongressMP Salman Khurshid has declined to join the government's all-party delegation visiting various countries as part of the Operation Sindoor outreach.
On Saturday, May 17, 2025, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju posted a list (external link) on his 'X' handle that included Khurshid's name.
'One mission, one message. One Bharat, Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism,' Rijiju wrote.
According to the list, Khurshid was scheduled to be part of the delegation visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Singapore. However, Khurshid has now opted out of the delegation.
Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, Khurshid explained why he is not accompanying the delegation.
Your name has been included among members of Parliament selected to go abroad and spread the message of Operation Sindoor. What message would you want to convey on behalf of India?
Let me clarify: My party, the Congress, submitted four names to the government -- Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and Shri Raja Brar -- as the people who should accompany the delegation.
I don't know what happened to those names. When I was approached about the delegation, I told them to speak to my party. I have no further involvement with this delegation.
Are you refusing to go?
I'm not refusing. The party has already sent four names. Why would I need to refuse? My understanding was that the party would decide who should go.
Once the government received those four names, the decision was theirs to make. I was not in the picture at all.
So, did the government include your name without your consent?
No. Please don't go into such things. They contacted me and suggested the idea, mentioning several other people who were included in the list.
I told them I'd be happy to participate, but the decision should be made by my party. They then spoke with the Congress leadership. After that, my role ended.
I am neither accepting nor refusing. I believe they intended to include me, but once I directed them to the party, the situation changed.
The party gave its four names, and it's now up to the government to decide. I'm not in the picture anymore.
Who from the government contacted you?
Kiren Rijiju called. That's his responsibility. I told him to speak to the party, and they did. I am not independent of the party. I can only follow what my party decides.
I informed the party that the government had contacted me, and after that, the matter was in the party's hands. I am not in the picture anymore.
In 1994, then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao sent a delegation led by the then Leader of the Opposition, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to counter Pakistan. You were part of that delegation, and India succeeded in defeating Pakistan's resolution.
Don't you feel you were well-suited to represent India again on such a global diplomatic platform?
That's not for me to judge -- it's for the Government of India to decide. But I am bound by my party, and the party has made its decision.
We don't make private deals because we belong to a party. Whatever decision is taken, with or without me, is a party decision.
The party will have considered the past, the present, and the future. It has submitted four names. The government should take those into account.
Back then, Mr Vajpayee was in the Opposition, yet Mr Rao sent him to lead the delegation while you were a minister of state.
Why can't there be a similar relationship between the Modi government and the Congress today for the national interest?
This isn't about how good we were or how bad they are. That is not the way to go about it. The point simply is that while representing the nation is an honour, it must happen through proper party channels.
A person who is a member of a (political) party cannot act independently. They must have party-to-party contact. This is on the party lever and I am not in the picture at all.
The parliamentary affairs minister spoke with party leaders, the party responded, and it is now for the Government to act.
Are you upset that your party did not consider you for such an important role?
Who am I to be upset? The party is coordinating with the government. Why should I be upset and get involved in this?
The question is for the government -- what did they do with the four names given by the Congress?
The government felt that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was better suited for this job, despite his name being conspicuously absent from the Congress list.
Doesn't this indicate that national interest should supersede party preferences?
My party is as committed to national security as anyone else. I cannot question my party's stance.
Shashi, perhaps, is donning two hats -- I don't know. What I do know is that his name was not among the four recommended by the party and yet he is going.
I've also heard other names from my party, like Manish Tewari, being included. I don't know the full details.
I just saw Jairam Ramesh's press conference, where he announced the four names. That's the party's official stand.
Don't you believe someone of your stature should have been included in the delegation?
Not at all. And I cannot disclose what is discussed within the party forum. When I say the party decides, it means I am part of that decision. I am not separate from the party.
Isn't the national interest more important than the Congress party's interest?
This is not a question of national versus party interest. The Congress party is part of the nation. You cannot separate the two.
The party is fully committed to the country. I cannot say that unless I'm part of it, the party's commitment is incomplete.
We act as members of our party, guided by our leadership. We take a collective decision and the decisions are made public.
I don't operate independently; my political actions align with my party's decisions.
© 2025