‘Maybe I wasn’t an ideal candidate to speak’: Manish Tewari on missing Operation Sindoor debate; has ‘no regrets’ | India News
NEW DELHI: Manish Tewari, who was not included by the Congress in its list of speakers for the Operation Sindoor debate, on Sunday said the party might have felt he was not the “ideal candidate” to speak, adding that he has “no regrets” over his exclusion.“Congress has nearly 100 MPs, and naturally, many of us wanted to speak. I was among them. However, the party decided who could best articulate our position in Parliament. Maybe it felt I wouldn’t be able to present its stand effectively, but that’s okay with me. I have no regrets,” Tewari told news agency ANI.When asked if “all is well” in the Congress for him and fellow “rebel” Shashi Tharoor, the Chandigarh MP said,” I have spent 45 years in Congress. My whole life has been spent with this party. We believe that Congress is necessary for this country.”Tewari and Tharoor were included by the Centre in the all-party delegations which visited various countries following Operation Sindoor in May. The former was part of the delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule, while the Tharoor-led group travelled to South America and the United States.Neither MP was named by the grand old party for the foreign visits. Like Tewari, Tharoor also didn’t speak during the debate on Operation Sindoor – India’s decisive counter-terror operation in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.Also Read | Operation Sindoor debate: How Tharoor took centre stage in Lok SabhaTewari, on July 29, in a post on X, wrote, “Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada Main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon Bharat ka rehne waala hoon Bharat ki baat sunata hoon.”Also Read | ‘Bharat ki baat sunata hoon’: Congress vs Congress? Manish Tewari’s cryptic post after being dropped from Operation Sindoor debateFollowing his post, he again offered a cryptic response: “There is a saying in English- ‘If you don’t understand my silences, you will never understand my words’.The Monsoon Session of Parliament, held from July 21 to August 21, witnessed a special discussion on the military operation. It was discussed in the Lok Sabha on July 28-29 and in the Rajya Sabha on July 29-30.The debate engaged the Lok Sabha for 18 Hours 41 minutes, in which 73 members took part and was replied to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In the Rajya Sabha, the discussion lasted for a total of 16 hours and 25 minutes, during which 65 members participated and were addressed by Home Minister Amit Shah.
