• Source:JND
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West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said the government neither informed nor consulted her before including Lok Sabha member and former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan in the all-party delegation that will visit other nations to explain India’s stance on Operation Sindoor. She added that only the parliamentary party was informed, and the members were decided by themselves.

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“The government never informed us about the delegation visit. They only informed the parliamentary party. If they would have informed us, No request came to us, else we would have supported the plan or any government policies... They cannot decide the name of the members by themselves,” she said. 

“It is not that TMC doesn’t want to be in the foreign delegation. Let us be clear on this. Nowadays, the system (in Delhi) is that they (Centre) don’t inform the mother party but inform the parliamentary party,” she added at the Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan has withdrawn from the all-party delegation after the Centre selected him as the party's representative.

Meanwhile, the move drew criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya, who called it unfortunate and stated that the matter "should have been kept above partisan politics. Members of Parliament are representatives of the people as well."

Malviya also targeted the West Bengal Chief Minister, alleging that she "forced" the TMC MP to "withdraw from the multi-party delegation."

"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," he said in a post on X.

“It sends a subliminal message that Mamata Banerjee and her party are unwilling to speak out against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. What is worse is that while a caucus of senior party apparatchiks prevailed—likely because they were not part of the delegation—other senior TMC MPs are now sending feelers to be included. After all, it is a matter of national pride to represent the country at such a moment.

Mamata Banerjee represents the worst kind of politics, and unfortunately, West Bengal is bearing the brunt of it. Let us not forget that a hostile demographic shift is staring the state in the face.” he added further. 

In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the government has launched a major initiative to send cross-party delegations to key countries to convey India’s united stance against terrorism.

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These delegations are led by prominent leaders including Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK), and Supriya Sule (NCP - Sharad Pawar faction). They are scheduled to visit 32 countries as well as the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

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