New Delhi:
Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee will be part of the parliamentary delegation that will carry India’s anti-terror message to the world, the party said after a row over the central government picking MPs for the outreach initiative without consulting the party’s leadership.
As part of the global outreach programme, seven MPs from across parties will lead a delegation each to countries across the globe, weeks after India responded firmly to the Pahalgam attack with Operation Sindoor.
“At a time when the world must unite to confront the growing threat of terrorism, Abhishek Banerjee’s inclusion brings both conviction and clarity to the table. His presence will not only reflect Bengal’s firm stand against terror but also strengthen India’s collective voice on the global stage,” the party said.
Mr Banerjee is the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which makes him the de facto second-in-command in the Trinamool Congress, which has been in power in West Bengal since 2011.
He will likely replace former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, an MP from the party who was made part of the delegation to be led by the JDU’s Sanjay Kumar Jha. Sources suggest Mr Pathan had opted out of the delegation, though he made no public remark.
Read: Trinamool Says Centre Can’t Decide MPs For Global Outreach, BJP Responds
The Trinamool had objected to the centre choosing a party representative for the outreach programme without consulting its leadership. A furious Ms Banerjee had threatened to pull out from the delegation yesterday, but said she would consider it if the government reached out to her.
Sources suggest Union Minister Kiren Rijiju dialled Ms Banerjee to pacify her and seek her suggestion for a representative from the Trinamool. During their conversation, the Chief Minister recommended her nephew’s name and told Mr Rijiju that they should have consulted with her before deciding on the representative, they said.
Mr Jha’s delegation also comprises BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, John Brittas, Prasan Baruah and Hemang Joshi. The delegation is likely to leave on May 22 and will visit five nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will brief the delegation today.
Abhishek Banerjee, an MP from Diamond Harbour near Kolkata, had yesterday opposed the “unilateral decision” by the government to choose a representative from the party. Only the party can decide who to assign to the delegation, he asserted.
Read: “We Decide Who Goes”: Trinamool Says Won’t Send Diplomatic Outreach Nominees
The outreach programme was announced on Saturday to project the country’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism. “The all-party delegations would carry forth to the world the country’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism,” the government had said.
The seven delegations would be headed by the Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, the JDU’s Sanjay Kumar Jha, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, and the DMK’s Kanimozhi.
The outreach follows Operation Sindoor, under which Indian forces struck terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
