The Trinamool Congress has nominated Abhishek Banerjee for an all-party parliamentary delegation for Operation Sindoor global outreach.
The move comes a day after MP Yusuf Pathan opted out of the delegation.
It has been learnt from the sources that Trinamool's decision to name Abhishek came after Union minister Kiren Rijiju called West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Centre has picked 51 political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers cutting across party lines as members of seven delegations travelling to world capitals to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.
However, the Trinamool Congress was unhappy that the Centre did not consult the party before choosing members.
"Centre cannot decide the name. If they consult the mother party, the party will decide the name. This is the system. We are with the Central government regarding external affairs policy, and we are fully supporting them,” West Bengal CM told the media.
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Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee had earlier stressed that the party supports the government on matters of national security, but asserted that it is not the government’s role to decide who will represent the party.
"We are with the Central Government on all decisions related to the national interest. However, the Central Government cannot decide who will represent the Trinamool Congress in the delegation. It is our party’s prerogative," he said.
Yusuf Pathan was selected as a member of the delegation led by Janata Dal United MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, which will be visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
However, the former cricketer-turned-politician said that he will not be available to join the delegation.
Another Trinamool leader, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, earlier said that he was also invited to participate in the outreach, but declined due to health reasons.
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