New Delhi [India], May 19 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Praveen Khandelwal on Monday refuted any allegations of "politicisation" in the all-party parliamentary delegation, which is set to visit key partner countries to highlight India's ongoing fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor.
Speaking to ANI, Khandelwal stated that it is the government's prerogative to choose leaders. He further argued that Congress, in its list, missed out names of senior leaders who have an understanding of diplomacy.
"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," Khandelwal said.
This comes after Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh accused the Central government of playing "cheap politics" and indulging in "politicisation" by not including all the names recommended by the Opposition for the all-party parliamentary delegation.
Ramesh alleged that despite formally submitting four names on request, the government ignored most of them, undermining parliamentary conventions and trust between the Opposition and the ruling party.
Speaking to ANI, Jairam Ramesh said, "On May 16, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out on behalf of the Central government to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and requested four names from the party to join the multi-party parliamentary group."
"Responding promptly, Rahul Gandhi submitted a list comprising senior leaders Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Nasir Hussain, and Raja Barar, before noon the same day," he said.
Ramesh said the government picked only one name from the list--Anand Sharma--and arbitrarily replaced the others with names not suggested by Congress.
"We gave the names they asked for, yet only one was included. This shows that the government's intention was already a mischievous one and this game was being played so that the formality of asking us ends," he alleged.
Ramesh claimed that the whole exercise appeared to be a formality to claim that talks were held, but in reality, it was mere damage control.
The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism.
According to Congress, the party had submitted four names to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by May 16, but the final list released late on May 17 included only one of the suggested names.
The list includes MPs from multiple parties, divided into seven groups of 8-9 members. A leader has been assigned for each group, who will lead the delegation at a global level.
The Members of Parliament include Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde.