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Anand Sharma urges parties to back India’s West Asia diplomacy and avoid partisanship, contrasting with Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh’s stand.
Congress leader Annad Sharma (Credits: PTI)
Amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma has urged political parties to avoid partisanship and instead support India’s diplomatic efforts, saying the situation demands national unity.
Speaking on India’s handling of the crisis, Sharma said Indian diplomats and missions have been working effectively and deserve encouragement. He stressed that the issue should not be turned into a political debate, calling such an approach a “national disservice”.
He said, “… India’s diplomats, ambassadors, missions, are working hard. We should encourage them and support their efforts. They’ve handled it skillfully. We cannot trap this narrative in any partisan politics. That would be a national disservice … So far, we have a situation where the Indian diaspora is absolutely secure and safe. We are perhaps the only country where the maximum number of ships either have sailed through or have been diverted towards India… In such a crisis, India should have an internal national consensus and resolve…”
Highlighting the need for continued political engagement, Sharma stated,”There are times when we have our positions… I also have my ideological convictions. But there are times when you think as an Indian that what your people, your diplomats, your officials want to hear from the political leadership. Yes, the government has had an all-party meeting. It should be upgraded. This dialogue must be sustained in India’s national interest. We must demonstrate national unity.”
His remarks comes contradicting to Congress leader Pawan Khera who recently struck a more critical note, questioning the government’s approach to global diplomacy. Referring to reports of Pakistan attempting to mediate between Iran and the United States, Khera said he felt “ashamed” that India was not playing a larger role on the world stage.
He also countered External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s earlier remark that India is not a “dalal” or middleman, asking, “Then what were we doing during the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Weren’t we mediating then?”
Earlier this week, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also slammed the government saying the external affairs minister is doing his best to cover up India’s “extreme embarrassment”.
“The dapper and long-experienced External Affairs Minister is doing his best to cover up India’s extreme embarrassment and the setback to its regional diplomacy from Pakistan’s emergence as a mediator and facilitator of talks to end the current war in West Asia,” he had said on X.
“That Pakistan can even be so considered for a mediating role is a most damning indictment of both the substance and style of Prime Minister Modi’s diplomacy, which has been full of bombast and marked by cowardice,” he added.
April 03, 2026, 5:43 PM IST
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