‘Political games’ or ‘government prerogative’? Row over selection of nominees for multi-party global diplomacy on war against terror | India News

NEW DELHI: Did the Centre reach out to parties for names of representatives to be included in its multi-party global diplomacy outreach on war against terror or did it decide the names “unilaterally”? Well, a row has erupted over the selection of names with some parties slamming the government for bypassing party leadership in deciding the representatives. However, the BJP and its allies have slammed those questioning the selections and said this was not about party politics but about nation’s interest.While the Congress claims the government indulged in cheap politics as it sought names but ignored party’s suggestions, the Trinamool Congress alleged that it was not consulted by the government and the name of its MP Yusuf Pathan was decided “unilaterally.” The Trinamool has withdrawn Yusuf Pathan from the delegation, but the Congress leaders selected by the government will continue to be a part of the govt’s global diplomacy outreach. The Congress accused the BJP of playing cheap political games on serious national issues.

“India is a democratic country. In Parliamentary system, to form an all-party delegation, names are sought from the parties and those names given by parties are selected. BJP sought 4 names and we gave it, but you changed those names and selected people as your wish. BJP never comes out of its dirty acts, politics on everything. This was the issue of the nation,” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said.Also read: Yusuf Pathan opts out of all-party delegation; TMC says ‘Centre can’t unilaterally decide’Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh accused the government of politicising the exercise of choosing leaders for the delegations and having “malicious intent” with only one out of four Congress leaders nominated by the party making the cut.Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, the Congress general secretary said 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.Later, in a post on X, Ramesh said, “After 11 years of abusing and defaming the Opposition — especially the Congress — the prime minister is now forced to send all-party delegations overseas. The truth is that the BJP’s poisonous politics at home has cost us hugely abroad. Our sanctimonious diplomacy has fallen flat and India is back to being hyphenated with Pakistan.” “That is the real ‘new normal’,” he added.The BJP reacted sharply to the controversy and slammed both the parties for not thinking about national interest. BJP leaders claimed that it was government’s prerogative to select nominees for the global outreach.“The allegations are not right. It is the government’s prerogative to send whom to which place. The party proposed its name, but it has forgotten the names of the senior leaders who understand diplomacy. The government has nominated those who have knowledge of diplomacy. There is no politics in it; few people find politics in everything and Congress is ahead of it,” BJP leader Praveen Khandelwal said.Also read: Congress slams government for denying communication over all-party delegation namesRajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore said the opposition should appreciate that their leaders were included in the all-party delegations being sent abroad to project India’s united stance against terrorism.The BJP’s allies have also slammed the Congress and the TMC for questioning the process of selection of members for the multi-party delegation. Interestingly, two parties – Samajwadi Party and the Biju Janata Dal – are yet to react to the row even as their members nominated for the exercise have welcomed the government’s move.Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai who has been named in one of the seven delegations said that Centre should have looked into the names provided by the parties if it had sought names from them.However, he also advised all the parties that since this is a matter of the nation and its security, everyone should show their big heart as nation is above everything.Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra expressed pride in being part of the all-party delegation. Patra chose to steer clear of political controversies over the delegations, stating: “I prefer not to comment on statements made by other parties. Right now, the focus should be on how we can collectively present India’s concerns and stance effectively on global platforms.”It will be interesting to know if the two parties were consulted before deciding the names of these two leaders. NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, whose daughter Supriya Sule will be leading one of the seven delegations, also backed the government’s move.“When the international issues crop up, the party-level politics should be shunned. Today, the Centre has formed some delegations, and they have been assigned to go to some countries and put forth India’s stand about the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent activities from Pakistan,” the former defence minister said.The Centre on Sunday announced the names of members of seven delegations which are being led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK) and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP). The seven delegations will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.