Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi: The grand old party should consider withdrawing from the all-party delegations being sent abroad to expose Pakistan, as the NDA government was deliberately targeting the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, for asking questions from the Centre, Congress Working Committee member Tariq Anwar said.
“It is my personal view that the Congress should consider withdrawing from the all-party delegations being sent abroad. What is the point of being there when the government is regularly targeting the Leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who has been asking valid questions from the Centre,” Anwar told ETV Bharat.
“These questions are related to follow-up action over the Pahalgam terror attack and the sudden ceasefire after ‘Operation Sindoor’, for which the US President Donald Trump is taking credit. When our leader asks questions that are on the minds of the people, they allege that he is speaking the language of Pakistan and might get their national award Nishan-e-Pakistan. What kind of politics is this when we are trying to present a picture of national unity through all-party delegations and targeting the Leader of the Opposition within the country,” he said.
According to the Congress veteran, although some of the delegations had already been dispatched, the grand old party could still consider pulling out of the panels that remained to go.
“The government should be told that the way it is targeting our leaders, the party MPs may not be able to serve the purpose in these delegations due to such petty politics,” said Tanwar.
The CWC member said it would have been better if the government explained its position over the Pahalgam terror attack, ‘Operation Sindoor’ and the ceasefire to the nation through a special session of Parliament before sending the all-party delegations abroad.
“The government is answerable to the people of India first. The Parliament is the best platform for an open discussion. Once a national consensus was achieved there, it would have been better to send diplomatic missions abroad to forge global opinion against Pakistan. The foreign media has detailed information on the conflict and is expected to ask tough questions, unlike the domestic media, which can be influenced,” said Anwar.
The Bihar Lok Sabha MP further said the former Congress chief had rightly been asking about what action was taken over the intelligence and security lapse behind the Pahalgam attack and when the four terrorists involved in the incident would be brought to justice. He also said the Leader of the Opposition questioning the foreign policy of the NDA government was right, as the Congress, too, had faced US pressure in the past and stood up against it.
“We fully supported the government for ‘Operation Sindoor’ and saluted our armed forces, who carried out action against the terrorist camps operating from Pakistan. But the government should also tell what happened to fixing responsibility for the lapses behind the Pahalgam attack. The families of those killed by the terrorists are awaiting justice,” said Anwar.
“The government alleges we are playing Pakistan’s tune, but it was our former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who taught them a lesson. She also faced similar US pressure in 1971, but stood up against it and went on to bifurcate Pakistan and create Bangladesh. The Centre even played petty politics in the formation of the all-party delegations by inducting some of our MPs on its own while rejecting the names that were suggested. Supporting the Centre and asking questions are separate issues. It is due to the faulty foreign policy of the NDA government that no other country condemned Pakistan-sponsored terrorism,” he added.
