India puts up united front abroad, Congress shows its cracks at home

Tharoor's role in bipartisan diplomatic outreach in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack has raised eyebrows in the country's main Opposition party

The Congress’ tiff with the Centre over its inclusion of Shashi Tharoor as one of the leaders of the “One Mission, One Message, One Bharat” diplomatic outreach has somewhat eclipsed the carefully constructed symbolism behind the composition of the seven Indian delegations travelling abroad in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor. 

The delegations — a mix of 44 sitting members of Parliament (MP), six former Union ministers, and eight retired diplomats — are part of India’s global diplomatic push following the April 22 terrorist attack. A government press note issued on Saturday evening declared these groups a “united front”, travelling to 32 countries and the European Union to demonstrate India’s “collective resolve against terrorism”. 

What the government has put together is an ensemble that aims to reflect India’s diversity and bipartisan political depth. Among the notables: Former Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M J Akbar, Salman Khurshid, and SS Ahluwalia, none of whom currently sit in either House of Parliament. Two Congress veteran Anand Sharma and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) V Muraleedharan — both former Union minsters — are also onboard. Former diplomats include some of India’s seasoned foreign service hands: Syed Akbaruddin, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Jawed Ashraf, Manjeev Singh Puri, Harsh Shringla, Pankaj Saran, Mohan Kumar and Sujan Chinoy. 

Akbar, a veteran journalist, had resigned from the Union Council of Ministers in 2018 amid allegations of sexual harassment. His inclusion now signals a cautious return to the political foreground, as part of the delegation led by Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad. This group heads to the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Brussels. It also features two other former Congress leaders: Azad, now leading the Democratic Azad Party, and Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is an MP belonging to the Shiv Sena (UBT). 

Apart from Tharoor, four other Congress leaders feature in the delegations — Khurshid, Sharma, Manish Tewari, and Amar Singh. But only Sharma was among the four names suggested by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.  The government ignored his other three picks — Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Raja Brar — prompting the Congress to cry foul. Party communications chief Jairam Ramesh described the move as “mischievous”. “We were hoping that the government is asking for names with honest intentions,” he said. “We didn’t know that they were doing it with a mischievous mentality.” When Ramesh was asked if there was a trust deficit between the Congress and some of its own leaders, such as Tharoor, he said, “Congress mein hona aur Congress ka hona mein zameen-aasmaan ka antar hai” — in ot­her words, a divide as vast as the sky and the earth between those who are in the Congress and those who are truly of it. 

Tharoor, for his part, was unfazed. “When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!” he posted on X. And he wasn’t alone. INDIA bloc allies like Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Kanimozhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam echoed his sentiment, both agreeing to lead their respective delegations. The Trinamool Congress, too, came around -- suggesting Yusuf Pathan in place of Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who cited health issues. 

The murmurs of tensions within the Congress are slowly getting louder. A senior party leader accused Tharoor of having crossed a “Lakshman Rekha” in supporting the government’s post-attack operations. Some have even called for disciplinary action. But with Kerala assembly elections on the horizon in 2026 — and with the Congress eyeing a comeback against the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which has ruled for two terms — the party must tread carefully. Tharoor remains a formidable draw in the state, where the BJP is also expanding its footprint. 

This Tuesday, the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs — which Tharoor chairs — is scheduled to be briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the state of India-Pakistan relations.  Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany from May 19 to 24, holding talks on bilateral, regional and global issues.