Congress 'suspicious' of Modi govt's intent as BJP leaders oppose inclusion of Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain in anti-terror delegation

Congress sources on Saturday said the party leadership has become suspicious of the government’s intent after some BJP leaders opposed the inclusion of Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi and Syed Naseer Hussain in the delegation proposed to present India's side on Pahalgam massacre and Operation Sindoor abroad.

The concerns emerged after the Congress forwarded four names for the delegation, but BJP objections specifically targeting Gogoi and Hussain have raised red flags within the opposition party.

In a related development, senior Congress functionary Salman Khurshid declined the earlier government offer to be part of the proposed delegation. Sources did not elaborate on Khurshid’s reasons but indicated that the political signals from the ruling party had contributed to unease within Congress circles.

Congress calls Centre 'dishonest'
Earlier, Congress called Centre “dishonest” for not including any of the four names suggested by the Congress, the party on Saturday made it clear that it would not revise the list it had submitted.

This statement came after the government released a list of a seven-member delegation to brief global leaders on India’s position following the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent precision strikes under Operation Sindoor. The list included Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, but none of the names proposed by the party — Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Raja Barar, and Syed Naseer Hussain.

“We were asked for names. We expected that the names we had given would be included. But when we saw the press release of PIB, we were surprised. Asking four names, giving four names, and announcing another name is dishonest on the government's part. It is possible Mr Rijiju had spoken to Rahul ji and Kharge ji even after the government had made up its mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. What happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

He also shared details of a letter sent by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday afternoon. “Yesterday at 12.30 pm, Rahul ji wrote a letter to Kiren Rijiju: ‘Dear Shri Kiren Rijiju, I am writing in follow-up of a conversation with me and Kharge ji regarding the delegation for the foreign countries. After discussing with Kharge ji, I am sending you four names — Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Raja Barar and Naseer Hussain’,” Ramesh said.

He underlined the distinction between those “in Congress” and those who “belong to Congress” and said the party was surprised at the final list despite consistently cooperating with the government on matters of national interest.

The Congress had publicly stated, including in a post by Ramesh on X, that Tharoor was not one of the names it had proposed. This has added to the perception within the party that the government had pre-decided the composition of the delegation while seeking names from the opposition in parallel.

The multi-party delegations are being sent abroad to highlight Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism and explain the rationale behind India's strikes under Operation Sindoor. An MEA official will accompany each group to support with briefings and documentation. This marks the first instance of the Centre deputing MPs across party lines to convey India's security concerns in foreign capitals.

BJP targets Gogoi, Naseer Hussain
BJP leaders, meanwhile, launched sharp attacks on the Congress’s proposed names.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya questioned the inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain, recalling an incident in which a supporter of the Congress MP had allegedly raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans inside the Karnataka assembly premises during Hussain’s Rajya Sabha victory celebration. “Let’s not forget — it was his supporter who raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha… Bengaluru police arrested three individuals based on forensic, circumstantial, and testimonial evidence,” Malviya said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also targeted Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that the Congress MP had spent 15 days in Pakistan, accompanied initially by his wife Elizabeth Colebourn. Sarma claimed Gogoi returned to India after a prolonged stay in Islamabad and later facilitated a group of about 90 youths’ visit to the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi — many of whom were allegedly unaware of the nature of the visit.

While Congress has not directly responded to the individual allegations, sources said the government’s selective acceptance and rejection of opposition MPs only reinforced their suspicion about the political motivations behind the outreach.