Latest news with #Group-7
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Countries of Gandhi, Mandela': Supriya Sule-led delegation concludes diplomatic visit to South Africa
Supriya Sule-led delegation in South Africa (ANI) The Group-7 all-party delegation, led by Supriya Sule of NCP (SP), concluded its diplomatic visit to South Africa with a series of meetings involving political leaders, think tanks, and the diaspora at India House in Pretoria, the administrative capital of the African nation. Addressing a press conference on Thursday (local time), Sule reflected on the legacy of both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, saying that their "shared values of non-violence and peace" bind the two countries. "India has always globally led for peace and the deep relationship, friendship we have had with South Africa - two sons (Gandhi, Mandela) of this global soil who have always talked about non-violence. So, we feel very close to South Africa," news agency ANI quoted Sule as saying. Further, the Baramati MP addressed the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The government has sent seven all-party delegations to 33 countries to highlight Pakistan's role in the attack. "We have come here to tell people of South Africa what really happened in India five weeks ago. There was a brutal attack on India's soul. Twenty-six innocent people on vacation were shot," Sule stated. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Pelajari Undo Meanwhile, Congress' Manish Tewari, a member of the Sule-led delegation, highlighted the bipartisan nature of the group as a reflection of India's "unified stance against terrorism." "We are a very diverse multi-party democracy. So, on this platform you have people representing different political parties, from the Government to the Opposition," Tewari said. The Chandigarh MP also underscored India's position on cross-border terrorism emanating from the neighbouring country. "The manner in which this delegation has been structured and the way in which it has been constituted is to convey our national resolve that if terrorism keeps getting perpetrated from across the you have a state on our western border where there is no distinction between the state and the semi-state actors that are its pawns then under those circumstances, (then) it is our national resolve that under no circumstances would that be tolerable. India then reserves the right to energise the full spectrum of options that are available to it in order to protect and defend its national interest," he added. Besides Sule and Tewari, the group Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Anurag Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan, and Syed Akbaruddin.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
All-party delegation holds talks in South Africa, stresses 'new normal' on terror
Pretoria [South Africa], May 30 (ANI): The Group-7 all-party delegation, led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, concluded its diplomatic visit to South Africa with a series of meetings involving political leaders, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora at India House in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. The members of the delegation included Supriya Sule, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce & Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. The visit, part of India's broader diplomatic outreach following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, aimed to deepen bilateral ties and convey India's firm stance against cross-border terrorism. Speaking about the delegation's engagements, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Prabhat Kumar said, 'Our MPs, who are members of the delegation, had a good meeting. Meetings were held with the political party, with the government, with the Indian community. After that, today at the think tank assembly, the ideas coming from India were shared with everyone. People understood them and expressed solidarity, acknowledging that yes, what India is saying is right.' He added, 'If we look at it, the visit of our committee and parliamentary delegation has been very successful.' Kumar highlighted the strong historic ties between India and South Africa, recalling their joint struggle during apartheid. 'Today, there was also a meeting with the African National Congress, and it was strongly emphasized that the relationship between India and South Africa is very old. We stood together during the apartheid struggle and supported them, so the African National Congress and South Africa will always stand with us.' He further noted that the message of support came not only from the ANC but also from other parties such as the Democratic Alliance, which recognized the presence of a large Indian-origin community in South Africa. Addressing the purpose of the visit, Kumar said, 'The main objective of the delegation that came was to convey what we are planning to do going forward. The idea of the 'new normal,' as presented by the Prime Minister, was conveyed very well to everyone.' He added, 'The relationship between South Africa and India is very deep and old. South Africa is with us, and whenever a moment comes on the international stage, I am confident that they will stand with us.' Kumar explained that the delegation's focus was also on communicating India's response framework for terror attacks. 'But the purpose of the current delegation was slightly different--it was to communicate how we will respond if we are attacked, or if we face a terrorist attack, how we will react. The 'new normal' that the Prime Minister talked about, that was presented here.' The visit comes in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people, including a foreign tourist. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 targeting terror camps linked to multiple terror groups. (ANI)
