To the utter surprise of opposition parties, which have been making rightful demands of the Narendra Modi government after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor for a joint parliamentary session and all-party meetings where the prime minister must be present, came the Union government’s announcement three days ago that it will send seven delegations to over 30 countries in a major diplomatic outreach post the Indo-Pakistani conflict.The delegations will have both BJP and opposition parties’ MPs, some even led by them, like Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)), and Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) among others.The delegations are expected to leave on May 22 and May 23 to meet representatives in world capitals ranging from Japan, Southeast Asia, the Arab world and Africa to the UK, EU, Latin America and the US.Of course, China is to be excluded, and the prime motive is to dominate the narrative post-Operation Sindoor, expose Pakistan’s terrorist war and isolate Pakistan on the world stage.The government’s statement read, “The all-party delegations will project India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism…”Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijju added, “This is a powerful reflection of national unity above politics … India will speak in one voice.”Has the government in one fell swoop cut critical voices in the opposition that were seeking rightful answers on the intelligence failure which led to the massacre in Pahalgam; the dismal preparedness and delay in coming to the help of victims; the so-called US-brokered ceasefire; and other pertinent questions?The Wire spoke to two sharpshooters from the opposition who are each on a delegation – the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s MP for Kerala, John Brittas, who will be visiting Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia; and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s MP for Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi, who will be visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria.Excerpts from the interview:Q. Has the Modi government blunted criticism against it for its lapses and omissions post-Pahalgam by co-opting MPs from the opposition for an international diplomatic outreach? The government has also refused a joint parliament session to give any answers?John Brittas: Yes, we wanted the government to convene a special parliament session, we also wanted the prime minister to preside over an all-party meeting, because in the last two meetings related to Pakistan, he was absent.We have so many questions and queries and need clarifications – from the many boastful statements by Donald Trump that he brokered the ceasefire deal, that he offered the carrot of trade; to intelligence failure, the delayed response time by security forces; the hatred, jingoism and warmongering by the media; the cyber attacks on the foreign secretary and his family, on the slain naval officer’s wife – I even wrote a letter to the home minister exhorting him to make an enquiry on who are behind the cyber attacks, but there’s been no response at all.We have serious reservations with this government on all these and more aspects, but when there is a proposal for a public outreach through diplomacy at the international level, we need to cooperate, because it is imperative to make a clear distinction between India and Pakistan in the world.Countries including the US and [those in the] EU hyphenate India with Pakistan; they see us as one and the same, and we have not been able to change this at all.Also, it is not unusual in our democracy to send bipartisan delegations abroad. I remember that during Manmohan Singh’s time, in the aftermath of 26/11 in Mumbai, delegations went to expose Pakistan’s terror networks.Our eyebrows are raised now as we never expected such a mature political culture from the Modi government because we haven’t experienced any democracy in the last 11 years. Our participation is to demonstrate to the world that the opposition has an important part in the democratic process of this country.Asaduddin Owaisi: Parliamentary delegations in diplomacy is not a new practice, earlier governments[led by] Narasimha Rao, A.B. Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh have done this too.Now, after the ghastly massacre perpetuated by terrorists who came from Pakistan, who shot dead people based on their religion, and the subsequent Indian attacks on the nine terror camps in Pakistan, it’s important we parliamentarians meet world leaders and explain to them the problems in this region. That India is a victim of terrorism, planned and sponsored by our neighbour for so many years, and there have been so many attacks in the past too.There are many issues on which we have disagreed with the government, and as far as my party is concerned, from 2014 when the Modi government came to power till the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill now, we have opposed each and every Bill of this government. Whereas the so-called secular parties in the opposition even supported the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act in 2019, which has thrown so many young people into prison.We are not supporting the government per se, we are supporting the country, where we are telling the world that our citizens are losing their lives to terrorists coming from Pakistan.Also read | Pak’s Support to Terror, Op Sindoor, Indus Water Treaty: What the All-Party Delegations Will AddressQ. Has the government briefed you on the agenda and the people you will be meeting?JB: This is a great opportunity to enlighten other countries that we are a mature democracy and I have shared this with the foreign secretary during his briefing yesterday with us about the programme.I said we must underline our rich diversity and cultural plurality and take this message to the world, that we are a vibrant democracy, unlike Pakistan, which was born on the basis of religion.We must push our agenda that India is not interested in having constant skirmishes with Pakistan and that Pakistan has been a perpetrator of terrorist activities since its inception.We must tell the world that we are not going to become a replica of Pakistan, but that we have a constitution and are serious about development, economic progress and eradicating poverty.We will be interacting with not just state actors, but sections of civil society, media and think tanks, as the MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] has informed us. When a delegation of MPs and dignitaries go, we are at liberty to interact freely with many sections of the people. The government allows it, but we haven’t got an itinerary yet.AO: The agenda is very clear – while I’ve made it clear that as far as the policies of the Modi government within the country are concerned, we are opposed to them and we will continue to oppose them – but this outreach program relates to an external attack which happened in our country.And if the government of the day feels that it is in the interest of the country that MPs of different political parties should go and explain what a neighbouring country has done, and please remember, Article 355 of the constitution says if there’s an external attack then the government must act immediately, we are fine with it.The MEA has still to meet us for a briefing, we are in the second batch going out, but we are clear that we will be meeting global leaders to defend the country.Q. What if the international leaders and others you interact with raise questions of murderous attacks on minorities; or for instance, the recent arrest of Ali Khan Mahmudabad for a legitimate social media post on sedition charges?JB: These issues certainly concern us – it’s completely ridiculous that somebody who puts up a comment on social media can be arrested on specious charges. I have raised this issue several times and have even spoken in parliament about unconstitutional arrests.Of course, there will be a lot of questions such as these addressed to us, but our delegation is mature enough to take a call on them. For diplomatic outreach[-related] international delegations, our assignment and aim is to make sure our larger agenda is out in the front; as far as domestic issues are concerned, we will handle it within the country.AO: Let the world question us on the attack on minorities and the sanctioned prejudices against them. I’m capable of defending it. If you see the video of mine from 2013, when I accepted an invitation to go to Pakistan, the same question was asked to me and it will explain how I face such questions.I appeared on a television channel and was questioned about the plight of Muslims in the country. My simple reply was: “You stop worrying about Indian Muslims, they decided 60 years ago that India is their nation. Our constitution is also secular and we will abide by it.”Q. Has Prime Minister Modi failed in his global outreach? He has reportedly made 129 visits to 72 countries in 11 years, but he barely got a nod of support from any world leader except for the usual homilies?JB: I am truly surprised that except for Israel for its emphatic support, I’ve not seen any such support coming from any other country. I am equally surprised how America has responded, in the way America has behaved and put us down.India deserves a forthright response at the outset to the nonsense being doled out by Donald Trump and his team – the way he depicted the ceasefire agreement, how he brokered the deal, he says; these utterances have gone against us.I feel that beyond the mere denial by the Modi government, there should be forthright rebuttal from the political executive. But that’s not happening at all.Trump’s transactional diplomacy is also disastrous for us, he is only interested in his family’s business, and despite the Modi government’s stated boycott of trade with Turkey and Bangladesh; Trump Jr has gone and signed trade deals in the countries.I think the biggest blow to the Modi government was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan granted to Pakistan. It was a ploy by the US, as it has got a predominant say in the IMF board in sanctioning loans.[Given] the fact that India had invested hugely with Western countries in diplomacy, the response has been dismal and disappointing to say the least.AO: It is unfortunate that we have got unstinted support from a country which abuses human rights, which still practices racial discrimination, which is Israel; and later from the Taliban government of Afghanistan, which has outrightly condemned the Pahalgam massacre. These are the only two regimes which have supported India.So yes, there certainly needs to be an improvement with our allies like the US, UK and the EU, which should have come out clearly in condemning the massacre.As far as Trump’s utterances on the ceasefire and the trade bargain go, we have to wait and see if the political leadership will rebut Trump or not.