"Sent Big Message": PM On Opposition Leaders In Anti-Terror Outreach Teams

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underlined that sending so many people from the opposition in anti-terror outreach delegation "sends a big message from India" to the world, sources have told NDTV, as he met the returning members at his residence. 

"India has been successful in giving the message that we are united against terrorism. More such delegations or all-party delegations should go around the world to talk about India's story," sources said quoting the Prime Minister.

Former parliamentarians and ex-diplomats were also part of these delegations that visited 33 foreign capitals and the European Union.

"Met members of the various delegations who represented India in different countries and elaborated on India's commitment to peace and the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism. We are all proud of the manner in which they put forward India's voice," PM Modi said in a post on X.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already met the delegations and praised their efforts in conveying India's strong stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Contrasting India's effort with Pakistan, Shashi Tharoor, Congress leader who led one of the delegations, said New Delhi sent seven delegations while Islamabad sent only two.

"He (PM) saw this as an opportunity to thank the delegations for their service, and he was very pleasant and spent more than an hour with all of us. He walked around the lawn to different tables, talking to different groups of people. We all chatted with him in an informal way. It wasn't a formal meeting at all," Mr Tharoor told news agency ANI after meeting the Prime Minister with members of other delegations. 

"It was a good, lively, informal meeting. Even those of us who had given him our reports on the trip did not present those reports. We all shared many things with him, and with time, it will be apparent. A general proposition I noticed was that every country said it was a very good idea for Members of Parliament to visit them. We all suggested that we should make this a practice more often. The PM certainly seemed to take that idea onboard," Mr Tharoor added. 

This diplomatic effort formed a part of India's global outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists that claimed 26 lives and injured several others.

Subsequently, the Indian Armed Forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Members shared their experience with the Prime Minister, with the central government having already praised the work of the seven delegations comprising over 50 persons, mostly current MPs.

Four delegations were led by MPs of the ruling alliance, including two from the BJP, one from JD(U) and one from Shiv Sena, while three were led by opposition MPs, one each of the Congress, DMK and NCP(SP).

BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijyant Panda, Congress' Shashi Tharoor, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, DMK's Kanimozhi, and NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule led their delegations to different parts of the world., The government had sent the multi-party delegations to portray a message of national unity in the fight against terrorism, with the likes of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi joining the ruling alliance members in championing the Indian cause abroad.

Prominent former parliamentarians in the delegations included ex-Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Salman Khurshid.