Three of the seven all-party Parliamentary delegations went to Europe and the Americas. Two of these three were led by Opposition parties' MPs while the third by a senior BJP leader. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi was leader of the delegation that visited Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia and Russia. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the former BJP minister, headed the delegation to UK, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Belgium--to interact with the European Union leaders.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was chosen by government to lead the delegation to the US, Brazil, Panama, Guyana, and Columbia. These delegations covered four of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
While the interactions of the remaining four delegations which went to countries of Asia and Africa were important, these three delegations visited countries that continue to exercise a preponderant influence in shaping global opinion.
The fact that these three delegations, (as also the others), consisted of all parties and two of these three were Opposition-led was noticed in the countries they visited. Despite the fractious nature of Indian politics, the Indian political class showed global leaders it has the capacity to come together on national issues.
Taken as a whole, this class represents and reflects the views of the people of India. Hence, the very composition of the delegations and their leadership carried the message of the vitality of Indian democracy.