BJP on Tuesday lashed out with a sharp criticism of the Congress party for skipping senior leader and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari while discussing 'Operation Sindoor' in the Lok Sabha, terming it as yet another example of the "Rahul Gandhi-occupied Congress" stifling the inner voices.
The Congress leadership deliberately sidelined Tewari and Shashi Tharoor to preclude any attention to India's diplomatic victory and international condemnation of the recent terror attack on Pahalgam, the BJP alleged.
The controversy arose after the announcement by the Congress party of its official speakers for the Parliament debate on 'Operation Sindoor.' The non-inclusion of Tewari and Tharoor—both of whom were members of India's international delegations to explain the country's position—raised eyebrows among political rivals and insiders as well.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur, during an interview with IANS, stated, "The 'Operation Sindoor' debate clearly indicates how Rahul Gandhi-held Congress is operating.". Congress leaders such as Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor were selected by Prime Minister Modi to speak on behalf of the nation overseas following the terrorist attack, but they were not given permission to be heard in Parliament. Is it because they would have appreciated the government's initiative and revealed the international criticism of terror? That would have pained Rahul Gandhi and the Congress narrative.
Thakur also condemned the Congress for reportedly over-looking the facts laid before External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during the session and added, "Even though External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar placed all facts and data in the House, Congress leaders were repeating the same unfounded arguments again and again. It would have derailed their political agenda had they allowed their own members who saw India's diplomacy succeed."
Following Thakur's tone, BJP leader Jogaram Patel spoke about Congress's internal decisions, stating, "Manish Tewari has thorough understanding of foreign affairs. He was a member of the international delegations for 'Operation Sindoor' outreach and argued India's side well. However, the Congress kept him away from the debate platform. It proves that they don't want the facts to emerge. If there is any honor left in the party, they should allow Tewari and Tharoor to speak about their experiences."
At the same time, veteran Congressman Pawan Bansal downplayed the issue for party protocol. "It is the party president or leadership who decides who will speak in Parliament during a debate. I don't want to comment further on internal decisions," he said in a statement to IANS.
Previous, Manish Tewari fueled rumors with an enigmatic social media post—days after the Congress made public its list of speakers, without his name. Omitting both Tewari and fellow MP Shashi Tharoor, who was a former party international envoy, has increased whisps of factional divisions in the Congress.
The row has come at a crucial moment, with the Opposition looking to put pressure on the government during the high-level parliamentary debate.
Tweeting on social media platform X, Tewari posted lyrics of a popular patriotic song from the 1970 film Purab Aur Pachhim, linking it to a news report on the dispute over the speaker list:
"Hai preet jahaan ki reet sadaa, main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon; Bharat ka rehne waala hoon; Bharat ki baat sunata hoon," he tweeted, closing with a firm "Jai Hind."
Congress MP Amar Singh, who was also included in an outside outreach initiative, was also left out of the lists of speakers.
Party insiders indicated that Shashi Tharoor had been offered to participate in the debate but refused to do so for as yet undisclosed reasons.
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