Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that India stands for peace. However, he stressed that the country will not hesitate to respond strongly to any terrorist attack. He announced that India is sending all-party delegations to different nations to convey this message.
Rijiju said, “India has always supported peace. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Operation Sindoor in response to the killing of our innocent civilians by the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.”
India Sends Delegations to Share Its Stand
Rijiju explained that these delegations have a vital mission. They aim to tell the world that India wants peace but will not tolerate terrorism. “Delegations of India are going to various countries and will put forward India’s side. It is important to let the world know that India supports peace and will act against those who support terrorism, and the world should support the same,” he said.
Government Faces Congress Criticism
Meanwhile, the Congress party raised strong objections. It criticized the government for rejecting most of its suggested names for the delegation. Rijiju responded by saying the delegates will represent India as a nation, not individual political parties. “This is not a topic of politics. These delegations are not going to represent a party but the country,” he clarified.
However, a political dispute broke out. The government selected only one of the four names suggested by Congress, sparking anger from the opposition.
Congress Calls It a ‘Damage Control’ Move
Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader in charge of communications, accused the government of acting too late. He said the move appeared more like a public relations exercise than a serious diplomatic effort.
Ramesh said, “Congress party believes that an all-party meeting should have been done before this and PM Modi should have chaired the meeting… Our second demand was to hold a special session of the Parliament to discuss the issues of the relationship between China and Pakistan.”
He also slammed the government for excluding three of the party’s nominations. “This delegation is going for damage control. We have been saying that we need to stay united, and we are standing with our armed forces like a rock. We have said that Operation Sindoor is a historic operation, but PM Modi does not speak with the LoP or the Congress President. They ask us to give names. When we gave 4 names, they picked only one of them and added names on their own. What type of politics is this?” he added.
Delegation Structure and Operation Sindoor
Congress mentioned that it had sent its list of four names to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by May 16. But the final list came out on May 17, with only one of their suggested names included. The final list has MPs from various parties, divided into seven groups. Each group has 8–9 members and is led by one leader who will present India’s views at the global level.
This development comes after India launched a strong military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. On May 7, the government launched Operation Sindoor. This operation targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Over 100 terrorists from groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen were killed during the operation.
India Responds to Pakistan’s Retaliation
After the Indian offensive, Pakistan carried out cross-border shelling and drone attacks along the Line of Control and border areas in Jammu and Kashmir. In response, India carried out coordinated strikes. It destroyed radar stations, communication centers, and airfields at 11 Pakistani airbases.
