As part of its unprecedented diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, 59 MPs, former ministers and politicians, cutting across party lines, will be part of the seven delegations that will travel to 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels.
The government said that the goal of this diplomatic outreach mission is to put across India’s resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
Each delegation comprises seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats. Of the 59 political leaders, 31 are part of the ruling NDA, while the remaining 20 are from the non-NDA parties.
Who are all the leaders of these 7 delegations?
1. Shashi Tharoor, Congress
2. Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP
3. Sanjay Kumar Jha, JDU
4. Shri Baijayant Panda, BJP
5. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, DMK
6. Supriya Sule, NCP
7. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena
Only one name suggested by the Congress — Anand Sharma — made it to the list of delegates. The remaining three — Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring — did not figure.
Seven delegations, 32 countries: All you need to know
The delegations include former union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia, who are not members of parliament at present.
Delegation 1: Led by Panda, this delegation comprises Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma (all BJP), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Satnam Sandhu (nominated), former minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla. They will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria.
Delegation 2: The delegation led by Prasad, comprising Daggubatti Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-UBT), Ghulam Nabi Khatana (nominated), Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), former Union minister M J Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. They will travel to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark.
Delegation 3: JD(U) leader Jha will lead the delegation comprising Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Yusuf Pathan (Trinamool), Brij Lal (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M), Pradan Barua (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), former minister Khurshid and former diplomat Mohan Kumar to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
Delegation 4: Shinde, a three-term Shiv Sena MP, will lead the group comprising Bansuri Swaraj (BJP), E T Mohammed Basheer (IUML), Atul Garg (BJP), Sasmit Patra (BJD), Manan Kumar Mishra (BJP), former minister S S Ahluwalia and former diplomat Sujan Chinoy. This group will travel to the UAE, Liberia, Congo and Sierra Leone.
Delegation 5 : The team led by Tharoor comprises Shambhavi (LJP-RV), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneshwar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu. It will travel to the US, Panama, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil.
Delegation 6: The delegation led by Kanimozhi, comprising Rajeev Rai (SP), Mian Altaf Ahmad (NC), Brijesh Chowta (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta (RJD), Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP) and former diplomats Manjeev Puri and Jawed Ashraf will travel to Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia and Russia.
Delegation 7: Sule will lead the group comprising Rajeev Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Thakur (BJP), Lavu SriKrishna Devarayalu (TDP), former ministers Muraleedharan and Anand Sharma, and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin to Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia and South Africa.
