New Delhi: As the Union government moves to send seven all-party delegations abroad to “project India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations”, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government for “unilaterally” deciding on who will be part of these delegations. 

West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, while denying that the party will boycott the delegations, said that the TMC was not asked by the Union government to provide names to be a part of the delegations being sent abroad. On Saturday, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju while announcing the members of the seven teams had included TMC MP Yusuf Pathan in one of the delegations.

“It is not that no one from the TMC is going to be a part of foreign delegations. The issue now is nowadays the system is that they don't inform the mother party, they only inform the parliamentary party. But the parliamentary party only works for parliamentary decisions, they cannot take policy decisions. No request came to us,” Banerjee said.

She added, “If the request had come to us then of course we can consider it. We are totally in favour of the country. In external affairs, we have always supported the central government policy. At present, we are supporting central government views and actions. They cannot decide the name of the members by themselves. It is not their choice. It is the choice of the party.”

Banerjee said that as the parliamentary party chairperson in both houses, she was not asked to name any representative for the delegations.

“If they request me to send someone, we will decide the name and we will tell them. It is not that we are boycotting or that we are not going. Parliamentary party takes decisions after consulting the party. I am the parliamentary party chairperson in both Houses. But I have not been informed. If we are informed we will definitely give names. There is no disagreement here, we are fully with the government,” she said.

TMC MP and the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also said to reporters on Monday that the party stands with the Union government in matters of external affairs and in combating terrorism, but the BJP cannot “unilaterally” decide on representatives from the TMC.

"I want to make it clear, and I am reiterating it again that whatever decision that Union government takes which aims at combating and curbing terrorism, safeguarding the sovereignty of the nation, and to protect the national interest of the party, we, as a party, the TMC will stand with the government shoulder to shoulder. But if a delegation is going-we have no issue with a delegation going-the way an attempt was made by Pakistan to disrupt peace in India, we condemn it, but the TMC will decide who will go,” he said.

“The Union government cannot decide unilaterally who will represent which party. BJP is at the helm, they are responsible for running the country and they can decide on their own party. Who will go from Congress, DMK, AAP or Samajwadi Party cannot be decided by the BJP. If you want one name, we will give five names. But the Centre needs to show its good intent and call for wider deliberations,” he added.

However, neither the chief minister nor Abhishek Banerjee clarified who will be sent from the party to be a part of the delegations.

Meanwhile Rijiju in a statement on Monday said that this is "not a political issue". "This is not a political issue. This delegation is not going to represent the party but to represent the country," he said.

Also on Monday, Congress MP and general secretary of media and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh shared a similar complaint, saying that the party should decide who will be a part of delegations being sent abroad, and not the government.

"If it was important for the Congress MPs to be in the list, there should have been a discussion with the party leaders. They could have asked us to give the names. In our country, political parties are the life of democracy. Parties form the government, the government does not form parties. We have a party system, but you have raised a question mark on this. What type of politics is this? Will you decide the names of our MPs going in the delegation?” he said to news agency ANI.

“We have no issues with the names that have been chosen. They are my good friends, they are experienced and have been working on foreign and defence policy for several years. The process that has been chosen is wrong. This is a notorious process, this should not have been done," he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Congress’ Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor had been named by the government to lead one of the seven delegations, the party in a statement provided four different names it had sent, which did not include Tharoor.

The party’s list included former Union minister Anand Sharma, Lok Sabha deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar. Of this, in the final list of the MPs delegations, only Sharma made the cut from the names provided by the Congress. In addition, Tharoor, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and former minister Salman Khurshid have also been named in the government's list.

Ramesh said, "After 11 years of abusing and defaming the Opposition – especially the Congress – the PM is now forced to send all-party delegations overseas."

"It is a reflection of his own inadequacies – now completely exposed – that the Prime Minister is now turning towards bipartisanship. But this is only momentary, hypocritical, and opportunistic," he said.

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