Yusuf Pathan Exits Anti-Terror Outreach; BJP Blames Mamata Banerjee

Yusuf Pathan Exits Anti-Terror Outreach: The cricketer cum politician turned TMC MP Yusuf Pathan shifted his name, on May 19, from the all-party delegation that is to visit international capitals to spread India’s view with regard to Operation Sindoor.

In doing so, the TMC has till now remained the only Opposition party that stood out to have its MP taken away from the delegation, objecting to the way the government had gone ahead to nominate directly a TMC MP without consulting the party.

"No request came to us, else we would have supported the plan...They cannot decide the name of the members by themselves," said West Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said, “The government never informed us about the delegation visit. They only informed the parliamentary party. No request came to us, else we would have supported the plan...They cannot decide the name of the members by themselves.”

VIDEO | Here is what Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial ) says on India's global outreach against terrorism sponsored by Pakistan: “The government never informed us about the delegation visit. They only informed the parliamentary party. If they would have informed us, No request… pic.twitter.com/Y1soCMKzh1

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 19, 2025

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'Not for govt to decide'

Speaking to the media at the Kolkata airport on Monday, TMC national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee said, “How can the Union government decide on the representative of Trinamool? They should have held discussions with the Opposition to decide which representative a party will send. How can the BJP decide which representative Trinamool will send? Trinamool is the only party which has not politicised the matter of national security.”

Thus, Banerjee accepted that the party supports the Centre in terror action. “I believe that whatever decision the Union government takes — if it aims at combating and curbing terrorism, safeguarding the sovereignty of the nation and protecting the national interest — we, as a party, will stand with the Centre shoulder to shoulder. But if there is a multi-party delegation going, it will be for the individual party to decide its representatives,” he said before leaving for Delhi.

VIDEO | Clarifying on the talks of TMC not sending representative in delegation for global outreach against Pakistan sponsored terrorism, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) says, "I don't know who said this, I want to make it clear, whatever decision that Union… pic.twitter.com/6GM1raRi1i

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 19, 2025

“The Centre cannot unilaterally decide who will represent which party. This has to be decided by the respective party leadership. If you ask for one representative, we will give you five names. But the Centre also needs to show its good intent and call for a wider deliberation with all parties in the opposition,” he added.

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Meanwhile, as stated by a TMC leader, the Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had first approached Sudip Bandopadhyay, TMC's Lok Sabha floor leader, to join the delegation. He refused it, citing his health issues. After that, the government went ahead and announced Yusuf Pathan’s name without bothering to consult another TMC leader.

Pathan was a member of the delegation headed by JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha which was to visit Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore. All-party parliamentary delegations are to visit 30 countries in order to highlight India’s zero tolerance on terrorism. The initiative has been called ‘One Mission, One Message, One Bharat’.

He is the first-time Member of Parliament from Baharampur, where he defeated Congress heavyweight, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Misri is also expected to inform the committee about India's plans to dispatch seven delegations to 32 countries and the European Union over the course of three weeks.

The purpose of these missions would be to present to these nations Pakistan's alleged support for cross-border terrorism as well as the justification for India's military response.

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