Shashi Tharoor-led Standing Committee to Discuss West Asia Crisis, India’s Neighbourhood Policy – News18

The standing committee for external affairs chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met in Parliament on Monday to pick subjects to discuss for its tenure.

Sources told CNN-News18 that the committee has chosen 17 subjects that will be discussed over the following months before the panel submits its report to Parliament.

Most of the members of the committee are on the panel for the first time and have keenly participated in picking the subjects that will be taken up for discussion. Apart from Dr Tharoor, senior members of Parliament like Asaduddin Owaisi are part of the panel.

Many members have suggested that the committee take on the crucial issue of the situation in West Asia and its impact.

The situation is very precarious and India is keeping a close watch on what’s happening in the region, sources in the government have already stated.

Dr Tharoor, who is a former external affairs minister, has been able to convince the committee that the panel can ask the officials of the ministry to depose before it about the situation in West Asia. However, that is just to keep the committee updated about what is going on, said sources. They added that the panel is unlikely to write or submit a report on this issue. “This is an evolving issue and it would not be possible for the committee to make a report on a matter like this,” a source told CNN-News18.

Apart from the situation in West Asia, several MPs would also like to discuss the issue of migrants from India to these countries and their conditions, etc. The MPs also requested the chairman to help get details of several migrants who were lured with jobs but ended up being duped and put in dangerous situations.

“It is a very important issue and it concerns India because lots and lots of Indians live across the globe and in these countries as well, and they are a great contributor to India’s economy,” a source said.

The committee would also discuss matters pertaining to neighbours, especially what has been witnessed in Bangladesh since the overthrow of Sheikh Haseena, as well as Sri Lanka. All issues concerning neighbouring nations will be discussed under one topic: India’s neighbourhood policy. In fact, during the last Parliament session, when the government held an all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh, sources said external affairs minister S Jaishankar had already assured parties that the moment the consultative committees would be formed, he would proactively take up the matter of India’s neighbourhood policy.

While the standing committee has Dr Tharoor as the chair, the consultative committee for external affairs would be headed by Dr Jaishankar himself.

Apart from this, sources said the committee would like to be briefed on matters like Passport Seva Kendras across the entire country. The panel, as of now, has decided not to discuss the situation between Ukraine and Russia.

As far as the West Asia situation is concerned, India has maintained that war is not a solution to any crisis. Like in the past during the Ukraine crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked all sides to exercise restraint. India has unequivocally condemned last year’s Hamas attack on Israel. The recent developments after Israel’s ground invasion in Lebanon and Iran’s attack have further flared up the situation as it could be on the brink of spiralling into a regional conflict.

Some of the concerns for India in the region include a large diaspora, energy prices surging, and also issues of the countries from the global south. PM Modi met Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas in New York recently and has spoken to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone, offering India’s support for mediation.