Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, after they pulled out their MPs from multi-party delegations. File
| Photo Credit: Ravi Choudhary
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, after they opposed nomination of their MPs without consultation to multi-party delegations headed to international capitals as part of the government’s global outreach against terror.
After Mr. Rijiju’s call, the Trinamool reversed its decision to boycott the panel and the Sena (UBT) endorsed the government’s selection.
TMC nominated the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, replacing the government’s pick of MP Yusuf Pathan. On Monday (May 20, 2025), Ms. Banerjee had said that no TMC MP would participate since there was no formal request from the government.
After Mr. Rijiju’s call on Tuesday (May 20, 2025), the party said, in a post on X, “We’re delighted to share that our Chairperson Smt. @MamataOfficial has nominated Nat’l GS Shri @abhishekaitc to represent Trinamool Congress in the all-party delegation for India’s global outreach against terrorism.”
It added that, at a time when the world must unite to confront the growing threat of terrorism, Mr. Banerjee’s inclusion brings both conviction and clarity to the table. “His presence will not only reflect Bengal’s firm stand against terror but also strengthen India’s collective voice on the global stage,” it said.
‘National interest’
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which had called for a boycott of the multi-party delegation, also announced its support for the government’s outreach in the “national interest”. While stating that the Centre should follow the protocol of keeping parties in the loop to avoid “chaos and mismanagement”, it endorsed the nomination of Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was part of the government’s original list of delegates.
“Union Minister Kiren Rijiju spoke to Uddhav Thackeray over the telephone on Sunday (May 18, 2025) to discuss his party’s participation in the all-party delegations visiting various countries,” the Sena (UBT) said in a post on X.
The party said it was reassured that the delegations were about articulating India’s stand against terrorism and not about politics. “On being reassured, we have also assured the government that we will do what is right and what is needed for our country via this delegation,” the Sena (UBT) said.
Though it will continue to seek an explanation about the “intelligence failure” in the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 persons were killed, the Sena (UBT) also stressed that Pakistan-based terrorism should be exposed.
“We have reaffirmed our support for any such action in the national interest. We have also demanded an all-party meeting which should be chaired by the Prime Minister at the earliest, to discuss [developments ranging from] Pahalgam to Operation Sindoor,” it said.
‘Brief Parliament first’
The Opposition has protested the government’s decision to choose delegation members without consulting any of the party leaders. The Congress was first to raise the issue. Mr. Rijiju has also reached out to Congress Parliamentarians before speaking to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
In a post on X, Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja said that the constitution of the multi-party delegations has been marked by “opacity” and “exclusion”. He said political parties were neither consulted nor briefed on the matter, and there was “no clarity” on the mandate of these delegations. He also underlined that the government’s diplomatic offensive precedes any discussion on the issue in Indian Parliament.
“It is unacceptable that foreign governments will be briefed while India’s own Parliament and people remain in the dark,” he said on X.
Published – May 20, 2025 11:34 pm IST
