"We will not be silenced by terrorism, we don't want the world to look away": Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. File pic

Ahead of his departure on a five-nation visit to present the country's position on the global stage, Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor on Friday asserted that India would not be silenced by terrorism.

In a video message posted on X, the Lok Sabha lawmaker said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruellest possible way."

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He added that the delegation would highlight the values India upholds, which he said must be safeguarded in today's world.

"We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country, for our response and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we don't want the world to look away either. We don't want indifference to triumph over the truth. It's a mission of peace. It's a mission of hope. And it's a mission that will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values we need to preserve in the world today of peace, of democracy, of freedom, and not of hatred, killing and of terror. Jai Hind," Tharoor said.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, along with fellow lawmakers, will travel to the United States, Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia.

Prior to their departure, the delegation was briefed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the objectives of this global outreach, which seeks to articulate India's firm stance against terrorism, news agency ANI reported.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Tharoor said, "We are meeting government officials, legislators, think tanks, and media and have public interaction. We are really going to try and talk to everybody. The whole idea is that we would like to sensitise public opinion, parliamentary opinion, and legislative opinion in each of these countries. So we will meet whoever wants to meet us."

Seven all-party delegations would be visiting various countries with an aim to present a united front and communicate India's unwavering policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Tharoor's delegation includes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya; Shambhavi Choudhary of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas); GM Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP); Milind Deora of Shiv Sena; Sarfaraz Ahmad of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM); and former Indian Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

(With ANI inputs)