‘Why does Rahul Gandhi hate those who speak for India?’ BJP slams Congress for excluding Shashi Tharoor from all-party delegation list

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday fired salvos at Congress after Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's name was missing from the list of MPs it handed out to the government for the all-party delegation set to be sent abroad to present India's stance on the Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari latched on to the issue to target Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of hating his own partymen who speak for India."So Jairam Ramesh opposes his own Congressmen Shashi Tharoor for being chosen to lead one of the Parliamentary delegation!" Bhandari wrote on X."Why does Rahul Gandhi hate every individual who speaks for India, even in his own party?" he added.This comes moments after the government announced the names of seven MPs including Shashi Tharoor, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Kumar Jha, and Supriya Sule among others.Following Centre's announcement, Jairam Ramesh revealed that Rahul Gandhi proposed the names of Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Raja Brar, and Anand Sharma from the party, which seemed to have not been taken into consideration."Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan," Jairam said."By noon yesterday, May 16th, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs giving the following names on behalf of the INC: Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, Raja Brar," he added.BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya also attacked Congress for the names it proposed and said that grand-old-party's "choices to represent India at diplomatic meetings are not just intriguing — they are deeply questionable.""The Congress party’s choices to represent India at diplomatic meetings are not just intriguing — they are deeply questionable. Take, for instance, the inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain in a delegation representing India. It is truly shocking. Let’s not forget — it was his supporter who raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha while celebrating his Rajya Sabha victory. Bengaluru police arrested three individuals in connection with the incident, based on a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, circumstantial evidence, and witness testimonies," Malviya said."Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Gogoi of spending 15 days in Pakistan, stating that his arrival and departure were officially recorded at the Atari border. Sarma further claimed that Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Colebourn, accompanied him for the first seven days before returning to India, while Gogoi remained in Islamabad. Apparently, upon his return, Gogoi took around 90 youths to the Pakistan Embassy — many reportedly unaware of where they were being taken," he added.'What happened is dishonest'Meanwhile, Jairam accused the Centre of being dishonest after it did not agree to the named forwarded by the party. "We were asked for names. We expected that the names we had given would be included. We hoped that the names given by the party would be included. But when we saw the press release of PIB, we were surprised. I cannot say what will happen now," Jairam said."Asking four names, giving four names, and announcing another name is dishonest on the government's part. It is possible that' Mr Rijiju had talked to Rahul ji and Kharge even after the government had made up their mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But what happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names," he added.The delegations aim to raise global awareness about Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism and to explain the rationale behind India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack.This is the first time that the Centre will depute MPs from multiple parties to present India's stance on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism. An MEA official will accompany each group to assist in briefings and presentations.Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, was a direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. Indian strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir reportedly eliminated over 100 terrorists.