French Delegation In India Said It Fully Supports Op Sindoor: Shashi Tharoor

A French delegation visiting India has expressed strong support for the country in its fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday. 

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Tharoor, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, said the Senate delegation "fully supported" Operation Sindoor that was launched by India on terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. 

"The French Senate delegation fully supported India's stand on cross-border terrorism. At a meeting (of the foreign affairs panel) today, the five-member delegation used a term, 'Soutien', which means 'full support'," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Mr Tharoor said he introduced the delegation to Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is scheduled to lead an Indian delegation of MPs to France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark on Thursday, to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism.

"We never spoke specifically about the Rafale but Mr Prasad told the French delegation that Rafale is the symbol of Indo-French ties," Mr Tharoor said. 

The Congress leader said the French delegation arrived for its trip to India, despite knowing that an Indian outreach team is set to visit the European country this week for the outreach program.

"Even as the (Indian delegation's) trip was planned, they (French delegation) said they will come and show their support to India," he said. 

Asked if the French Senate delegation extended its support to India's strikes in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Mr Tharoor said: "Absolutely". 

Over 50 political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers cutting across party lines are set to be a part of seven delegations travelling to world capitals, to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism, from Wednesday.

The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JD-U), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Mr Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK) and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Each delegation comprises seven or eight political leaders and is assisted by former diplomats. The delegation led by Mr Tharoor comprises Shambhavi (LJP-RV), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneshwar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu. It will travel to the US, Panama, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil.

"One mission. One message. One Bharat. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X.

The delegations include former Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, Salman Khurshid, and S S Ahluwalia, who are not MPs at present.