Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has informed the Centre of its decision to withdraw its MP from the seven all-party delegations scheduled to visit multiple countries as part of India’s global outreach following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Sources said the Trinamool Congress has instructed Lok Sabha MP Yusuf Pathan, the sole representative from the party among the 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers selected for the delegations, to withdraw from participation.
However, the decision was conveyed to the central government by Trinamool Congress without any official explanation. The TMC has confirmed that neither Pathan nor any of its other lawmakers will take part in the diplomatic missions.
Party insiders said the decision stems from dissatisfaction with the government’s selection process, which they claim was carried out without consulting the TMC leadership. The Union government had nominated Pathan after TMC’s Lok Sabha floor leader, Sudip Bandhyopadhyay, cited health issues and expressed inability to join.
Pathan, who received a call from Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday night, said he would consult his party before making a decision; he was later contacted by the External Affairs Ministry for his passport details.
Pathan was among the nine members of a delegation led by JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, which will travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Singapore. The delegation is scheduled to depart on May 21.
The other members in this team are Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Brij Lal (BJP), John Brittas (CPI-M), Pradan Barua (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), former minister Khurshid and former diplomat Mohan Kumar.
Trinamool Congress is the third political party after Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and Congress that openly criticised the Central government’s plan to send a delegation to 31 countries and the European Union to assert India’s firm stance against terrorism in light of Operation Sindoor.
Though Trinamool Congress, officially didn’t say anything, a senior party member said, “Who will be part of which delegation cannot be decided by the BJP or the government. Contacting an MP from a party and asking for their passport details without speaking to the party leader or officially communicating through a letter is a violation of protocol.”
Only two MPs from West Bengal – Samik Bhattacharya of the BJP and Yusuf Pathan of the Trinamool Congress – were among the 51 political leaders, parliamentarians, and former ministers from across party lines who will be part of seven delegations traveling to world capitals.
However, after the exit of Pathan, Bhattacharyya will be the only representative from the state. Bhattacharya will be one of the eight members of the team led by senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad. This delegation is set to visit the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, and Denmark, with their departure scheduled for May 23.
The other members in this team are Daggubatti Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-UBT), Ghulam Nabi Khatana (nominated), Amar Singh (Congress), former Union minister MJ Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran.
