Fifty-one political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers cutting across party lines will be part of the seven delegations travelling to world capitals to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Each delegation comprises seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats. Of the 51 political leaders, 31 are part of the ruling NDA, while the remaining 20 are from the non-NDA parties.
All seven delegations have at least one Muslim representation, either among politicians or diplomats.
Only one name suggested by the Congress -- Anand Sharma -- made it to the list of delegates. The remaining three -- Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring -- did not figure.
Besides Tharoor, Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Dr Amar Singh from Punjab and Salman Khurshid are part of the delegations.
With only one of the four leaders being accommodated, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, in a statement, said it proves the complete insincerity of the Narendra Modi government and shows the "cheap political games" it plays on serious national issues.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the insistence of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
"One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X.
The delegations include former Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia, who are not members of Parliament at present.
The delegation led by Panda, comprising Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma (all BJP), Asaduddin Owaisi (All India Mujtahid Ittehadul Muslimeen), Satnam Sandhu (nominated), former minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria.
The delegation led by Prasad, comprising Daggubatti Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), Ghulam Nabi Khatana (nominated), Dr Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), former Union minister M J Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran, will travel to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark.
JD-U leader Jha will lead the delegation comprising Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Yusuf Pathan (Trinamool), Brij Lal (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M), Pradan Barua (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), former minister Khurshid and former diplomat Mohan Kumar to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
Shinde, a three-term Shiv Sena MP, will lead the group comprising Bansuri Swaraj (BJP), E T Mohammed Basheer (IUML), Atul Garg (BJP), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Manan Kumar Mishra (BJP), former minister S S Ahluwalia and former diplomat Sujan Chinoy. This group will travel to the UAE, Liberia, Congo and Sierra Leone.
The delegation led by Tharoor comprises Shambhavi (LJP-RV), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneshwar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu. It will travel to the US, Panama, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil.
The delegation led by Kanimozhi, comprising Rajeev Rai (Samajwadi Party), Mian Altaf Ahmad (Nationalist Conference), Brijesh Chowta (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Ashok Kumar Mittal (Aam Aadmi Party) and former diplomats Manjeev Puri and Jawed Ashraf will travel to Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia and Russia.
Sule will lead the group comprising Rajeev Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Thakur (BJP), Lavu SriKrishna Devarayalu (Telugu Desam Party), former ministers Muraleedharan and Anand Sharma, and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin to Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia and South Africa.
The Congress, earlier on Saturday, said it was asked by the government to submit the names of four MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan. It nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
Of the four, only Sharma has been included in the seven delegations that will be visiting various countries.
Four Congress leaders -- Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and Salman Khurshid -- who were not part of the list forwarded by the Congress have been included in the delegations by the government.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "On May 16th morning, the Modi government asked for four names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the Congress in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan."
These four names were conveyed in writing by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, by 12 noon on May 16, Ramesh said in a statement.
"Very late tonight (May 17th), the full list of members of all delegations has been officially released. Most regrettably, only one of the four names suggested by the INC leadership has been included," he said.
"This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi government and shows the cheap political games it always plays on serious national issues," Ramesh said.
The four eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the insistence of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions, he said.
"The Congress will not stoop to the pathetic level of the PM and the BJP. It will always uphold the finest traditions of Parliamentary democracy and not play partisan politics on national security issues, like the BJP does," Ramesh said.
The Congress wishes the delegations all the very best, he added.
Ramesh said these delegations should not, however, divert attention from the Congress's demands to have all-party meetings chaired by Modi and for a special session of Parliament to reiterate the resolution adopted on February 22, 1994, while also taking note of developments thereafter.
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