Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday stood by his decision to accept the Centre's invite to lead a multi-party delegation abroad to put across India's stand against Pakistan on terrorism, saying "I see no politics in it".
At the same time, he denied any knowledge about any names being suggested by the Congress for the delegation, saying that it was between the party and the central government.
Tharoor, speaking to reporters here, said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju recently officially invited him to lead the delegation in view of his past experience in handling foreign affairs and "I immediately agreed".
"I see no politics in it. According to me, politics become important when we have a nation. We all are Indians. When the nation is in crisis and the central government seeks the help of a citizen, what other answer would you give," the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
He further said that everyone saw the 88 hours long battle with Pakistan and therefore, "we all need to have a role in what the world is saying about us".
"It is in that spirit I agreed to it," Tharoor added.
On being asked by reporters whether the Congress was unhappy with his decision and why it released the names of the people it had suggested for the delegation, Tharoor said the media should pose these queries to the grand old party.
"You will have to ask them (Congress)," he said when asked whether the party has any reservations about him leading the delegation. -- PTI