Trinamool picks Abhishek Banerjee for all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor

Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee

A day after Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan opted out of the team set to go abroad to convey India’s message on Operation Sindoor, party leader Abhishek Banerjee will be part of the delegation.

The decision was reportedly taken after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju  dialed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and sought her suggestion on selecting a representative for the delegation. Banerjee is the nephew of CM Banerjee and Trinamool Congress general secretary.

The Centre on Saturday (released the list of seven all-party delegations that will soon travel to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union, to convey India’s message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.

Earlier, Trinamool MP Yusuf Pathan opted out of the all-party delegation after Centre chose him as party's representative, PTI reported citing party sources. The TMC indicated that the selection was "unilateral" and it should have been "decided by the respective party leadership".

The seven delegations comprise 59 members, including 31 political leaders from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 20 politicians from other parties. They will be assisted by former diplomats.

These delegations will be led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Baijayant Jay Panda (Group 1) and Ravi Shankar Prasad (Group 2); Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Jha (Group 3); Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde (Group 4); Congress’s Shashi Tharoor (Group 5); Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (Group 6); and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule (Group 7), according to The Hindu.

When Pathan opted out, BJP leader Amit Malviya calling the move unfortunate. He said this "should have been kept above partisan politics. Members of Parliament are representatives of the people as well".

"West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to force the TMC MP to withdraw from the multi-party delegation is unfortunate. This is a Government of India delegation and should have been kept above partisan politics. Members of Parliament are representatives of the people as well," Mailviya said in a post on X.

CM Banerjee, however, categorically mentioned that the party did not intend to boycott the delegation.

"It is wrong to say that we are boycotting or not going. They need to inform the party. The parliamentary party discusses the bills in the Parliament. It takes decisions regarding the Parliament, and that too, after consulting with the party. I am the chairperson of the parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha," she said as quoted by Times of India.