Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday of suddenly deciding to send multi-party delegations of MPs abroad to divert attention from difficult questions he is being asked, especially as his global image has been damaged. Ramesh made these comments while paying tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.

He pointed out that since the 1950s, MPs from different parties have regularly been sent to the UN in New York every October-November, but Modi stopped this tradition after 2014. Now, desperate due to his tarnished international reputation, Modi has revived the idea of sending all-party delegations to various countries to shift focus away from the tough issues he faces, Ramesh claimed. On Rajiv Gandhi’s 34th death anniversary, Ramesh contrasted Gandhi’s humanity, decency, and kindness—qualities he said are missing in Modi—by sharing a story told by Gandhi’s political rival Atal Bihari Vajpayee about how Rajiv had helped him join a UN delegation to receive medical treatment abroad.

Recently, the government asked Congress to nominate four leaders for the multi-party delegations aimed at explaining India’s stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism. Congress nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. However, only Anand Sharma was included in the seven delegations visiting various countries. Meanwhile, four Congress leaders—Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, and Salman Khurshid—who were not on the list submitted by Congress, were part of the delegations. Ramesh also criticized Modi for publicly criticizing Congress in countries like Australia, the US, South Korea, and China, yet now relying on opposition party members for these delegations.