 "West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee with party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee during a public meeting for Lok Sabha polls, in Kolkata, May 29, 2024. File Photo/PTI")
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will send Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee to represent the party in a delegation that will go abroad to keep forward India’s stance of zero-tolerance against terrorism in the wake of Operation Sindoor. He will replace Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan as part of the Centre’s global outreach delegations.
India is sending 51 political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers from different parties as members of seven delegations who will travel to world capitals to convey the country’s resolve to tackle terrorism after the Pahalgam terror attack that led to Operation Sindoor . These delegations will be headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Congress’ Shashi Tharoor, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi, Supriya Sule of Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP), Sanjay Kumar Jha of Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde.
But why has the TMC dropped Yusuf Pathan from the delegation? We will explain.
TMC picks Abhishek Banerjee
The TMC, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has nominated Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee as its representative in the multi-party delegation travelling abroad.
The party announced in a post on X, saying: “We are delighted to share that our Chairperson Mamata Banerjee has nominated Nat’l GS Abhishek Banerjee to represent Trinamool Congress in the all-party delegation for India’s global outreach against terrorism.”
“At a time when the world must unite to confront the growing threat of terrorism, Abhishek Banerjee’s inclusion brings both conviction and clarity to the table. His presence will not only reflect Bengal’s firm stand against terror but also strengthen India’s collective voice on the global stage,” the statement added.
Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and the de facto second-in-command in the TMC.
The switch comes after the TMC took objection to the Centre picking a member from the party for the delegation without consulting it.
The row over ‘unilateral’ delegation choice
The TMC said on Monday (May 19) that it will not send Yusuf Pathan after the Centre named the cricketer-turned-politician as part of the multi-party delegation headed by JDU’s Sanjay Kumar Jha.
CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, and Congress leader Salman Khurshid are other members of the delegation. They will travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
Pathan reportedly turned down the offer, citing availability issues. Sudip Bandopadhyay, who was also nominated by the Centre, had previously pulled out due to health reasons. As per The New Indian Express (TNIE) sources, the Central government chose Pathan after Bandopadhyay opted out.
The TMC rebuked the Centre for picking Pathan for the global outreach programme without discussing the party’s representative with its leadership.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said no request for suggesting names came to the “mother party” and even threatened to pull out from the delegation. However, the Bengal CM said she would consider if the government approached her.
“They (the Centre) cannot decide the name (of the TMC representative) on their own. If they request the mother party, the party will decide the name. This is customary and is the system. We are totally with the Centre on foreign policy… If they request me to send someone’s name, we will decide it and tell them,” the West Bengal CM said.
“The parliamentary party discusses the bills in Parliament. It takes decisions regarding Parliament, and that too, after consulting with the party. I am the chairperson of the parliamentary party in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by T_NIE_. “However, we are never informed. We will send a representative if they inform us. Why wouldn’t we? There is no point of controversy here. We are fully with the government,” she added.
Abhishek Banerjee also criticised the Centre on Monday for its “unilateral decision” to pick a representative from the party. “The Centre cannot unilaterally decide who will represent which party. This has to be decided by the respective party leadership."
“Trinamool will send its members, but if you don’t ask, how can we send? As the party’s National General Secretary, I am putting this straight on record: no one approached us. They didn’t even approach our Chairperson. What is the proof that they’ve contacted us? If you want to send parliamentarians, fine, but you should also send those who fought on the frontlines during Operation Sindoor. They will be able to better explain to the world what Pakistan has done. And I am totally for that — the entire world should know Pakistan’s nefarious acts. We need to come together and fight this collectively. But who should represent our party must be decided by us, not the BJP,” he told the media.
How did Centre pacify Bengal CM?
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is reported to have reached out to CM Mamata Banerjee over the delegation row. During a call, he sought her suggestion for a representative from the TMC and she recommended the name of Abhishek Banerjee as part of a delegation.
As per NDTV sources, Banerjee also told Rijiju that the government should have consulted her before choosing the TMC representative.
On Monday, Rijiju had said that the Centre had not sought names from political parties for the delegations. “No party was asked to suggest names for the multi-party delegations rallying global support for India’s war against terror originating from Pakistan,” he stated.
Earlier, the Congress had hit out at the Central government for ignoring its suggestions for representatives from the party for the multi-party delegations. However, it said its members would be part of the delegations as the cause was bigger.
With inputs from agencies