NEW DELHI: On his return to India after being a part of a global delegation that visited several countries, veteran Congress functionary Salman Khurshid said though he had been asked by his party to be a part of Centre's global outreach against terrorism, he was left wondering "why people were making speculations and what they were looking for". He was explaining his biting remarks that were apparently directed at Congress officebearers who ran down the govt campaign.
Khurshid termed the trip as successful after his delegation met with external affairs minister S Jaishankar for a briefing. Congress MP Manish Tewari too praised his delegation's efforts in Gulf and African countries, where it effectively "busted false equivalence" Pakistan has drawn between Palestine and Kashmir, and sensitised the hosts about Pakistan's terror agenda against India.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading a delegation that is in the US at present, said, "I think anybody who thinks that working in national interest is some sort of anti-party activity really needs to question themselves rather than us."
However, unfazed by the criticism of these party members, Congress continued its offensive against the programme, saying the foreign visits achieved little with the delegations failing to meet big leaders in host countries. When asked about Khurshid's praise of the outreach, All India Congress Committee spokesman Ajoy Kumar said the issue was not about any party or individual because it is govt that decides the script for any such delegation. "And the problem is that govt did not give the script," he felt.
Kumar added that the delegations did not even name China as the force behind Pakistan's devious agenda or call out US president Donald Trump for his claim that he was behind Indo-Pak ceasefire. "The media was busy pitting Congress against Congress by talking about Tharoor, etc, but this was Modi's surrender," he claimed.
Nevertheless, Khurshid stuck to his guns and said he had been in touch with the party high command throughout the tour.
Citing an example of what the trip had achieved, he said Pakistan had to issue a "frustrated press release" after his delegation's three-day visit to Malaysia.
"While some questions were raised by Malaysia, given its strong membership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, we received a firm letter of support from the prime minister of Malaysia. We saw no indication of any hesitation in backing India," Khurshid pointed out.