'Sending 7 delegations won’t help, Vishwa Guru image worsened': Jairam Ramesh

India’s image on the global stage is facing challenges amid escalating tensions with Pakistan, a senior Congress leader has said, criticising the government’s decision to send delegations abroad as a reactive “damage control” move.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications, questioned the timing and effectiveness of the delegations aimed at countering cross-border terrorism narratives.

Ramesh argued that the delegation should have visited after an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issues more cohesively. “Congress party believes that an all-party meeting should have been done before this, and PM Modi should have chaired the meeting... Our second demand was to hold a special session of the Parliament to discuss the issues of the relationship between China and Pakistan,” he said.

He questioned the impact of sending seven delegations simultaneously, stating, “You are sending 7 delegations now, but what is the difference that it is going to make? Our narrative has already gotten worse. Pakistan and India are again being compared... The narrative of ‘Vishwa Guru’ has also gotten worse.”

Ramesh also took issue with the government’s handling of the delegation’s composition, saying three names recommended by Congress were excluded. “This delegation is going for damage control. We have been saying that we need to stay united, and we are standing with our armed forces like a rock... When we gave 4 names, they picked only one of them and added names on their own. What type of politics is this?” he added.

The government announced seven all-party delegations aimed at presenting India’s united stance against terrorism globally. These delegations are meant to send a message of zero tolerance towards terrorism, especially after India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Following cross-border shelling and attempted drone attacks by Pakistan, India retaliated with coordinated strikes, damaging multiple airbases and radar facilities across 11 Pakistani locations.