The Congress on Monday dismissed as an “absolute lie” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s reported assertion that that the federal government didn’t ask for names for the all-party diplomatic delegations going overseas, and mentioned it was “low cost politics” to not get the names it chosen cleared with the opposition occasion.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress basic secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh mentioned the identical PM who had abused the Congress publicly in nations resembling Australia, the US, Qatar, South Korea and China, is taking the assistance of the opposition occasion in these delegations.
“Why didn’t the prime minister choose up the cellphone and converse to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief of Opposition within the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi? Why didn’t he have the courtesy to try this? The actual fact is that our narrative has been punctured and continues to get punctured due to the politics of polarisation within the nation,” Ramesh instructed PTI right here.
On Saturday, the Congress mentioned it was requested by the federal government to submit the names of 4 leaders for the all-party delegations to be despatched overseas to clarify India’s stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism. It nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
Of the 4, solely Sharma has been included within the seven delegations that might be visiting numerous nations.
4 Congress leaders — Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and Salman Khurshid — who weren’t a part of the listing forwarded by the Congress have been included within the delegations by the federal government.
Requested about Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju’s reported remarks that the federal government by no means requested the Congress to provide names, Ramesh mentioned, “That could be a lie — LIE — absolute lie. He had a dialog within the morning of Might 16 with the Congress president and Mr Rahul Gandhi and in pursuance of that dialog the latter wrote to Mr Rijiju suggesting 4 names.” “At no level of time, the Modi authorities did the Congress the courtesy of claiming that, ‘look these are the 4 names we’ve chosen’, what do it’s a must to say about them’,” the Congress chief mentioned.
Ramesh accused the BJP and the prime minister of getting performed “low cost politics” on the difficulty.
“His (Modi’s) picture has taken a beating, he’s determined in altering the narrative as soon as once more. Our damand is {that a} Prime Minister-chaired all-party assembly be held and a particular session be known as to reiterate the decision of February 1994 and provides it contemporary that means, in addition to take the nation into confidence,” Ramesh mentioned.
He claimed that whereas India made positive factors by ‘Operation Sindoor’, diplomatically it had been damage because the narrative had modified.
Story continues under this advert
“We now have to alter the momentum for India. The Congress has at all times mentioned unity and solidarity is essential. ‘Ek desh, Ek sandesh’ is essential to take care of terrorism,” he mentioned.
Taking a swipe on the BJP, he mentioned, nonetheless, it’s not “Ek desh, Ek sandesh’ for “polarisation and the poison-filled nationalism that the BJP propagates”.
On Rijiju’s reported remarks that the federal government didn’t go by the Congress’ inside dynamics in selecting members for the delegations, Ramesh mentioned, “No query of inside dynamics. In 2008, Dr Manmohan Singh and his advisors consulted all political events, that’s how the delegations had been despatched. Within the case of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee within the Nineteen Nineties, he was the chief of BJP and P V Narasimha Rao was the PM, so that they talked to one another.” Accusing the BJP of spreading hate and bigotry, Ramesh mentioned, “We can’t have one narrative exterior and one other inside. What’s the narrative going out of India? — Nationalism based mostly on prejudice, nationalism based mostly on bigotry and nationalism based mostly on hate, poison and communal tensions. Is that this the message we wish to despatched to the world?” On the TMC’s criticism of the number of MPs by the federal government for the delegations to be despatched overseas, Ramesh mentioned he wouldn’t touch upon different events however the Congress’ intention was to take part in these delegations.
“Out of the 4 names we had instructed, the federal government chosen just one, a Congress chief who has had in depth expertise in overseas affairs after which they added 4 different names which they’d not cleared with the Congress occasion. That was unfair on the a part of the BJP and was low cost politics,” Ramesh mentioned.
Story continues under this advert
“They need to have cleared the names with the Congress,” he mentioned.
The 4 leaders chosen by the federal government are all skilled and one in all them is a former exterior affairs minister, and they’re very articulate and they’re taking part within the delegations.
“These are a harm management delegations. After 2008 delegations had been despatched overseas however at the moment, all people had condemned Pakistan’s cross border terrorism however at present we’re again to being hyphenated with Pakistan…The entire narrative has modified. The vishwaguru picture has taken an enormous beating,” he mentioned.
Accusing the federal government of politicisation of Operation Sindoor, Ramesh pointed to the assembly of solely NDA chief ministers has been known as.
Story continues under this advert
The seven delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (each BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK) and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP) will go to a complete of 32 nations and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Every delegation contains seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats.