Delegation Visits Afterthought As Government Narrative On Operation Sindoor Collapsed: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, May 17: The Congress today asserted that the visit of the all-party MPs’ delegation to different countries must not be politicised as the country remains one and united in its fight against terrorism and teaching Pakistan a lesson.

The party, however, questioned the intentions of the government of India over sending the all-party MPs’ delegation to different countries to put forth India’s point of view on the issue of Pahalgam terror attack and the developments which took place after that.

During a debriefing today, Congress general secretary-communications, Jairam Ramesh observed that the delegation visits to the foreign countries was an afterthought as the government has realised that its narrative had failed.

Replying to a question about the nomination of MPs from his party for the delegation, the Congress general secretary said that the government was playing games on a serious and sensitive matter. “While the Congress is playing by rules, the other party (the BJP) is targeting the bodyline”, he remarked while drawing parallels with cricket where bodyline bowling is considered against the rules.

He said the union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had spoken to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and asked for four names. He said the Congress party was surprised over the names included in the delegation, which had not been recommended by it (the Congress).

He said the party had nominated Anand Sharma, a former union minister and three-time MP; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha; Syed Naseer Hussain, RS member; and Amarinder Singh Raja ‘Warring’ Brar, LS member. He said the party gave the names with sincere intention and not with any malicious mindset.

He observed, it is highly probable that the BJP had already decided about the names of the MPs for the delegation and had talked to Kharge and Gandhi merely as a formality.

Jairam Ramesh reiterated the party’s demand for holding an all-party meeting and calling a special session of the Parliament to discuss the sensitive issue. He said, the country needs to reaffirm and reiterate the February 22, 1994 unanimous resolution of the Parliament seeking to get back the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Besides, he added, important issues like the developments in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack, challenges posed by Pakistan & China, and the relationship with the US need to be discussed in the special session.

He also demanded that the Prime Minister should call all the Chief Ministers from across the country for the scheduled meeting on 25th May and not just the NDA Chief Ministers.

He pointed out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not broken his silence about what the US President Donald Trump has been saying repeatedly. He said, Trump mentioned it seventh time last evening that he had mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He referred to Trump’s ‘tactic of dangling the carrot of trade as an allurement to end the war’. “Operation Sindoor was stopped for trade”, he remarked, while referring to Trump’s claims.

The Congress general secretary recalled 1971 when Smt. Indira Gandhi stood up to the US pressure and told President Nixon that he could do what he wanted, she would do whatever was in the interest of India.

He said even the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had not answered to the claims being made by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Maintaining that the Congress party supports sending all-party delegation to different countries, he said, the MPs must talk about terrorism, which is the main issue and not Kashmir, as the US President is trying to suggest.

Observing that the decision to send all-party MPs to different countries was a diversionary tactic, he said, this was sheer opportunism as the government had lost the narrative.

Ramesh also criticised the government of India’s stand during the IMF discussion for sanctioning loan to Pakistan, saying that India should have opposed the proposal instead of abstaining from the voting.

He also reiterated that lakhs of Congressmen and Congresswomen are not just in the Congress; they are of the Congress.