Washington: The team of Indian parliamentarians, headed by Congress Party leader Shashi Tharoor, began on Wednesday two days of grueling campaign in the US capital to convey India’s message of zero tolerance for terrorism and explain how it was forced to respondwith Operation Sindoor to terrorism sponsored from across the border in Pakistan.
The delegation that arrived here from Brasilia on Tuesday afternoon has a very demanding schedule that includes meetings with government officials, members of Congress, think tanks, media, opinion-makers, and members of the Indian American community.
Looking ahead at the visit, Tharoor told IANS in Brasilia: “We’re looking for solidarity in our struggle against terrorism”.
“Washington is a particularly interesting case because it is a large country, a superpower with enormous influence in the world, and there are many crosscurrents of information, misinformation, and other narratives circulating. So, we have quite a lot of work to do there,” he said.
Reflecting India’s united stand against terrorism, the team represents its political and geographic diversity and is led by Tharoor from the opposition Congress.
The other members of the team are Shambhavi of the Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas, Sarfaraz Ahmad of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Milind Murli Deora of the Shiv Sena as welll as Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya of the BJP, and GM Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party, a National Democratic Alliance partner.
Former Indian Ambassador to the US Tarajnit Singh Sandhu is also with the team to capitalise on his knowledge of and network in the US capital.
While the Tharoor-led delegation is here, a Pakistani team led by former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will also be in town pushing Islamabad’s message.
“In Washington, we’ll have the interesting phenomenon of the Pakistani delegation in America,” Tharoor noted in Brasilia in a talk with reporters.
“So there’s going to be some perhaps, increase in interest because of the fact that our two duelling delegations, as it were,” he added.
A highlight of the Indian delegation’s visit here is a news conference at the National Press Club.
Tharoor will be staying on after most members of his team return to India for a series of interviews with major US media and podcasters on Friday.
Two evening events are planned at the Embassy, one for Indian Americans and another for other influential opinion-makers and influencers.
In the US Congress, the delegation is expected to meet with committees dealing with foreign and strategic affairs.
Team Tharoor has visited New York, Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, where they met government leaders, lawmakers, and the media to present India’s view of the terrorism crisis following the massacre of 26 people at Pahalgam by The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“For us, in these countries, understanding our position and leaving with a sense of solidarity was important — and that we have done,” Tharoor told IANS.
The delegation came to Washington from Brasilia on a roundabout route that took them to Sao Paulo in Brazil and Panama.
On arrival, they were met by India’s Ambassador Vinay Kwatra and his team of diplomats, who later gave them a detailed briefing.
Noting the ubiquitous presence of diaspora across the US spectrum, Tharoor posted on X that he was “pleased to be greeted at the airport by two Indian-American cops, Officers Harmanpreet Singh and Hundal”.
(IANS)
