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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Amid a heated row over Trinamool Congress MP and former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan not participating in the multi-party diplomatic mission following Operation Sindoor, party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the BJP-led Centre cannot decide which party sends whom as part of the delegation.
The Central government nominated cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan, an MP from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, to be the only MP from the Trinamool Congress to be part of the all party delegations.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has, however, conveyed to the Centre that it will not send Pathan as a part of the delegations which will visit key partner countries to convey India’s message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.
Banerjee on Monday stated that the Centre cannot decide members’ names on its own. The Trinamool Congress chief also said she didn’t receive any request regarding sending a member to the Centre’s multi-party diplomatic mission.
Notably, Kiren Rijiju, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, earlier announced that seven all-party delegations would soon engage with key nations following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, reflecting India’s collective resolve against terrorism. Rijiju shared the list of MPs and delegations representing these diplomatic missions.
“We were not contacted about this (selecting and including party members in multi-party delegation). Nowadays, they only inform the parliamentary party, not the main outfit. The parliamentary party cannot take policy decisions,” the Chief Minister told reporters at Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal on an official trip.
“No request to send a representative’s name for the outreach programme came to us. If it had, then of course we could have considered it. We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to counter Pak-backed terrorism is the choice of parties, not of the Centre,” Banerjee said.
Reiterating the party’s stand, Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said the Centre should have held discussions with the Opposition to decide which representative a party would send.
“How can the Union government decide on the representative of Trinamool Congress? How can the BJP decide which representative Trinamool will send? Trinamool is not boycotting the (all-party) meeting. Trinamool is the only party that has not politicised the matter of national security,” said Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress’ second-in-command.
“Whatever decision the Centre takes, which is aimed at combating and curbing terrorism, safeguarding the sovereignty of the nation, and protecting the national interest, we as a party will stand with the Union Government shoulder-to-shoulder,” added Abhishek, Mamata Banerjee’s Nephew.
Published on May 19, 2025
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