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Trinamool said its party leaders will not be part of the all party delegations
Yusuf Pathan was named to tour world capitals to campaign against terrorism
Trinamool leader said Centre can’t decide who will go from which party
New Delhi:
The Trinamool Congress has said that its MP or any other party leader will not be part of the multi-party delegations named by the Centre to tour world capitals to campaign against Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism, sources said on Monday.
The Centre last week named Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan to be part of the seven delegations that will travel to different countries to convey India’s message of zero-tolerance against terrorism and Operation Sindoor, which was launched on May 7 after a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month.
“We believe that the nation is above all, and we pledged our support to the Union government to take whatever action was needed to protect our great country. Our Armed Forces have made our nation proud, and we are forever indebted to them. Foreign policy is entirely within the domain of the Union government. Therefore, let only the Union government decide our foreign policy and take complete responsibility for it,” a senior Trinamool leader said.
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Speaking to reporters on Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool boss, said she didn’t receive any request regarding sending a member to the Centre’s multi-party diplomatic mission.
“No request came to us. If a request came to us, then we could consider. We are in favour of the country. In the external affairs issue, we have always supported the policy of the Centre. At present, we are supporting the central government’s views and actions. They cannot decide the member’s name on their own. It is not their choice, it is the choice of the party. If they request me to send someone, we will decide on the name and tell them. It is not that we are boycotting or that we are not going,” she said.
Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also spoke to the media about the delegations and said the Centre can’t unilaterally decide who will go from which party.
“I am saying this very clearly that whatever decision the Union Government takes, which aims at combating terrorism to protect the national interest of the country, the TMC will stand with the Centre shoulder to shoulder. We do not have a problem with any delegation going, but which member of our party should go in the delegation is the decision of my party,” he told reporters.
#WATCH | Kolkata, WB: On being asked if TMC has opted out of the Centre’s multi-party diplomatic mission aimed at countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, TMC National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee says, “I don’t know from where you got this information. I am saying… pic.twitter.com/LToXDrFj5B
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2025
“If you (Centre) ask us for one member for the delegation, we can send five. But the Centre needs to show its good intent and call for a wider deliberation with all the parties of the Opposition,” he added.
BJP’s Reaction
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked Trinamool and said the party was “playing politics”.
Speaking to NDTV, BJP spokesperson RP Singh said the global outreach initiative was not about an individual party, but about “representing the country”.
“The government had already sent request letters to various parties. But if they don’t respond to that in time, the government obviously has to go ahead with these delegations. The government cannot keep waiting for parties,” he said.
“Instead of playing politics, they (Trinamool Congress) should rather ask the members to cooperate with the government,” Mr Singh said.
The Centre has announced seven all-party delegations that have 31 political leaders from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 20 politicians from other parties.
These delegations will be led by BJP MPs Baijayant Jay Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule.
They will be assisted by former diplomats.
They are scheduled to visit 32 countries, including the EU headquarters in Belgium, and are expected to begin their tour on May 23.