New Delhi: Amid controversy over Shashi Tharoor’s name being accommodated by the government among delegations to visit abroad to counter Pakistan’s narrative despite Congress naming for other party MPs, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he does not see any politics in it.
Speaking to reporters, the Congress MP said he did not have any idea of names suggested by his party, observing that it was between the Congress and the government. He added that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju recently officially invited him to lead a delegation due to his experience in handling foreign affairs.
‘No politics in it’
“I see no politics in it. According to me, politics becomes important when we have a nation. We are all Indians. When the nation is in crisis and the central government seeks the help of a citizen, what other answer would you give,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying. Pointing out the increased tensions with Pakistan, he added, “We all need to have a role in what the world is saying about us. It is in that spirit I agreed to it.”
When asked whether Congress was unhappy with his decision, he added, “You will have to ask them.” He added that the Centre approached him for the nation’s service, which he would always be ready to do.
Notably, the Centre has named him as one of the delegates even as the Congress released the names of four suggested MPs and did not have Tharoor on the list. The Congress nominated former Union Minister Anand Sharma, the party’s Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar after the government asked the main Opposition party for the names of four MPs for delegations.
