Mumbai : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday questioned the need to send parliamentarians abroad to brief other countries about Operation Sindoor and India’s military escalation with Pakistan, likening the move to a “baraat,” or groom’s wedding. Government decided to send seven delegations comprising MPs from various parties to several countries starting later this month.
What will the son of the Deputy CM (MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Eknath Shinde) represent abroad?” Raut asked, adding, “The BJP has politicised this; they have a habit of doing politics in everything. The India bloc should boycott this baraat. Fifty-one political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers cutting across party lines will be part of the seven delegations travelling to world capitals to present India’s resolve to tackle terrorism in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
Sanjay Raut’s party colleague Priyanka Chaturvedi is also part of a delegation in the government’s outreach. She will be joining a group led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, which also includes Daggubati Purandeswari (BJP), Ghulam Ali Khatana, Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), MJ Akbar, and Pankaj Saran. Of the 51 political leaders included, 31 belong to the ruling NDA, while the remaining 20 are from non-NDA parties. All seven delegations feature at least one Muslim representative, either among the politicians or diplomats.
The teams also include former Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, MJ Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Khurshid, and SS Ahluwalia — none of whom are currently Members of Parliament. Only one of the four Congress leaders recommended by the party — Anand Sharma — was included in the delegations, while the government selected Shashi Tharoor independently. This has sparked a political row.
