TMC's Yusuf Pathan will not be part of government delegation on ‘Operation Sindoor’: Trinamool Congress

Trinamool MP and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan will not join the Centre’s Operation Sindoor outreach programme. It aims to send a multi-party delegation to over 30 countries to highlight India's stand on terrorism.

Trinamool Congress said neither Pathan nor any other TMC MP would be a part of the delegations, and claimed that the Baharampur MP's name was included without consulting the party.

‘Mother party will decide’

Bengal Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee issued an official clarification saying that no request came to the “mother party” for names for the delegation.

“They cannot decide member's name on their own. It is not their choice, the party [Trinamool] will decide. If they request the mother party will decide as is customary,” she said, adding that the party is“totally with the Central government on external affairs policies.”

‘How can the BJP decide?’

Objecting to the Centre's choice of MP to represent the Trinamool Congress, the party's National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “How can the Union Government decide on the representative of Trinamool?”

Banerjee said the government should have held discussions with the opposition to decide which representative a party will send. “How can the BJP decide which representative Trinamool will send?”

‘Foreign policy is a Union govt domain’

News agency ANI cited TMC sources as saying that the Union government should solely be responsible for the nation's foreign policy, and not the Opposition.

“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,” TMC sources said.

It added that the party believes that the nation is above all and has pledged their support to the Union government to take whatever action is needed to protect our great country. “Our Armed Forces have made our nation proud and we are forever indebted to them.”

About the Operation Sindoor outreach programme

The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated by the Indian government to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism in over 30 countries.

The mission operates under the theme "One Mission, One Message, One Bharat," with a unified goal of presenting India's response to terrorism in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

The seven delegations will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the USA, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

(With agency inputs)