Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], June 2 : Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is part of all-party delegation led by JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, has taken a dig at those "calculating political allegiances" for remarks made during India's mission against terrorism and asked "if it is so difficult to be a patriot".
Khurshid said he is part of the all-party delegation to speak for India and his remarks should not be seen from the perspective of domestic politics.
"People are saying, he (Salman Khurshid) is supporting so and so and he is not supporting so and so; they are supporting Government etc. Have I come here to oppose the Government of India? If I wanted to do that, I would stay at home. I have come here to speak for India, whoever speaks for India and in whichever way they speak for India, whatever is said for India, we are here to support," Khurshid told ANI.
"It is only a short period of 10-12 days, then you have to go back home and do what you are required to do at home. But here for India first, India and only India," he said.
Khurshid, a former External Affairs Minister, said in a post on X, that they are on a mission to carry India's message against terrorism.
"When on mission against terrorism, to carry India's message to the world, it's distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?" he asked.
Asked about his remarks in the social media post, Khurshid said no matter which party one belongs to, "what is needed is a single voice to speak in favour of the nation and that is what we are doing here".
"People keep saying, 'what are you doing in a delegation where there are people from the BJP. What are you doing there?' What are we doing here? We are doing here is, what is needed for the country. No matter which party you are from, today what is needed is a single voice to speak in favour of the nation and that is what we are doing here," he said.
"I think when I say is it so difficult to be a patriot? - that is the question that has to be asked of those who are putting out tweets and saying things that I think I believe are not very encouraging when you want to do something for the nation," he asked.
Khurshid said overall reactions and responses have been very good in the interactions of all-party delegations.
"Of course, we are meeting several political parties here and many of them are supporting the Government. But they are separate political parties and each political party has a particular point of reference or a particular nuance that may vary. But there is a total agreement on the issues on which we have come here, which is to oppose terrorism that has been hurting us so grievously for such a long time and on that there is complete unanimity and we are very encouraged by it," he said.
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla took a dig at Congress over Khurshid's remarks.
"Salman Khurshid now puts India above Parivar Hope Congress won't label him as SUPER PRAVAKTA Why does Congress want to bat for Pakistan? Even Salman , Manish & Tharoor are calling Rahul & Congress lies out," he said in a post on X.
Khurshid had said earlier spoke about the BJP-led government's decision to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and said assembly election held last year saw 65 per cent voting. He said Jammu and Kashmir now has an elected government.
BJP leader Hemang Joshi, a member of the delegation, toldthat they met Malaysian MPs of the ruling party, and the Supreme Council ministers, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's department.
Earlier today, the Deputy Minister in the Malaysian PM's department, YB Kulasegaran Murugeson, expressed his support for India, saying that India's action against the Pahalgam attack on April 22 was "necessary" and that India took "steps to protect its national interest."
"What happened on April 22 should not have happened at all. It was shocking. India has taken necessary action. We spoke about Malaysia's concerns, and we feel India took steps to protect its national interest. We hope cross-border terrorism doesn't take place anymore," Murugeoson said.
The all-party delegation has visited Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. It includes BJP MPs Brij Lal, Pradan Baruah, Hemang Joshi, and Aparajita Sarangi, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee; CPI-M's John Brittas and Mohan Kumar.
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