Deepak Dwivedi
As part of the Government’s global outreach after Operation Sindoor, seven all-party delegations from India have fanned out to foreign nation’s Capitals to convey the country’s strong stand against Pak-sponsored terrorism.
Armed with dossiers prepared in the official language of the respective country, these delegations – comprising MPs from the ruling and Opposition parties – will visit 33 countries and the headquarters of major international groupings such as the United Nations and the European Union.
The exercise is part of the Government’s diplomatic push to isolate Pakistan internationally. The delegations would convey to foreign Capitals that India had been a victim of terror emanating from its neighbouring country, and the world should not equate India and Pakistan – one a victim of terror and the other the perpetrator. Comprising MPs across party lines from both the Houses of Parliament, senior leaders and former diplomats, these delegations will undertake the exercise for a fortnight, between May 21 and June 8.
They will cover different regions, in cluding North America, South America, North Africa, Central America, West Africa, Southeast Asia, East Asia, West Asia, and Europe. The leaders of the delegations include Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JD-U), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).
Interacting with permanent and nonpermanent members of the United Nations Security Council is a key component of India’s diplomatic initiative as the UNSC is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. The delegations will present India’s stance to 12 of the 15 UNSC member states. They will not visit Pakistan and Somalia, two non-permanent UNSC members, and China, a permanent member.
The group led by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will interact with political leaders, intellectuals, journalists, and expat Indians in the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia. BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad will head a delegation to Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Denmark, and Brussels, which houses the European Union’s headquarters, while DMK MP Kanimozhi will lead the delegation to Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Russia and Latvia. Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP will lead a delegation to Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa. Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while Ethiopia hosts the headquarters of the African Union. South Africa is a partner of India in BRICS, which also includes Russia, Brazil, and China.
The composition of all the seven delegations echoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bipartisan approach to embrace cooperation and uphold India’s foundational values of pluralism in both society and policymaking. The delegation members hail from parties with serious differences of opinion but are united by the larger cause of the country. They represent the united will of India to fight terrorism in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, by showcasing diversity and plurality against a military-theocratic state that supports proxy wars and kills innocents.
