Govt scraps practice of sending delegation of MPs to UNGA

The government has scrapped the practice of sending teams of MPs from different parties to New York for participating in the UN General Assembly proceedings, official sources said today.
The sources said there will be no Indian Parliamentary delegation taking part in the UNGA proceedings this year.
As per tradition followed by successive governments, a select number of MPs of various parties are selected to be part of India's non-official delegation to the United Nations after the Prime Minister wraps up his interactions and meetings at the UNGA. They participate in different UN sessions on a wide range of subjects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the UNGA on September 27 in his maiden address to the world body.
The general debate at the UNGA is followed by the sessions of six main committees and other plenary bodies where the MPs would have participated.
However, the government has decided at the last moment to scrap the entire visit by the parliamentarians, the government sources said while refusing to provide any reasons for this.

The parliamentarians had also been intimated about the decision, the sources said.
Earlier, it was decided to send three separate batches of MPs totalling about 30 parliamentarians from October 6, with the last batch scheduled to return home on November 14.

The MPs who were supposed to have been part of this delegation are understood to be belonging to parties like the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, JD(U) and TDP.
The list of MPs is prepared on the basis of the strength of parties in the two Houses of Parliament, though the final list depends on the discretion of the highest authority depending on their ability to represent India at the top international forum.