In 'message' to Congress, Shashi Tharoor calls for bipartisanship

NEW DELHI: In the wake of the just-settled controversy triggered by Congress' objections to govt picking its members for global outreach on Pakistan-sponsored terror , senior MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday called for bi-partisanship on matters of security like terrorism - a line also echoed by Congress MP Manish Tewari .

Tharoor, who announced he would be heading a multi-party delegation despite Congress not recommending his name, has sought pan-political consensus on terror, in what could be seen as a message to his party. The post-Pahalgam row has intensified with Congress seizing upon the video comment of foreign minister S Jaishankar to accuse him of informing Pakistan in advance about the military action.

In a media article, Tharoor started with a lament over political parties "weaponising grief for electoral advantage rather than forging a unified front" and mentioned how India's swift retaliation over the Pulwama attack in 2019 became part of the election campaign narrative - a swipe at the governing BJP. But his call for political consensus in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the row over delegations can be seen as an appeal to Congress to eschew political and procedural issues for larger national goal.

Like Tharoor, Tewari too had signalled that he would do "national duty" by being part of the delegation, irrespective of what Congress decided. On Sunday, as the dust settled with Congress announcing that all its members would be part of the delegation despite being picked by govt, Tewari posted on X a Hindi movie song "Dekho veer jawaanon apne khoon pe yeh ilzaam na aaye, Maa na kahe ke mere bete waqt pada to kaam na aaye" - implying the sense of not being found wanting in national duty.

The issue of delegations, where govt picked all four members from Congress despite the parliamentary affairs minister asking Congress to submit its choices, has created bitterness.