New Delhi : A delegation of BJP lawmakers Saturday left for China on a week-long visit to support efforts to remove “minor irritants” between the two countries in “political, economic and geographical areas”.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari is leading the delegation, which has 12 other members.
The delegation will return Nov 22, a party release said.
“The objective of the tour is to understand the internal party structure, political function and its role in establishing a welfare society. The delegation will also emphasize on establishing and strengthening relations between the two ruling parties,” the release said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who interacted with the delegation, told the members that purpose of the visit was “to support the ongoing efforts to remove minor irritants in political, economic and geographical areas”.
She asked the delegation to tell the Communist Party of China leaders and the people in government about the “positive steps initiated by the Narendra Modi government” in establishing cordial reations with all the neighbouring countries, particularly China.
The delegation has both MPs and MLAs drawn from various states. Party MPs Tarun Vijay, Bhola Singh, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Harish Dwivedi are some of the members of the delegation.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said it was a “goodwill” visit at the party-to-party level aimed at building cordial relations between the two major Asian countries.
He suggested to the delegation to pave the way for stronger economic and cultural relations between India and China.
Official from the External Affairs Ministry also briefed the delegation about the government’s stance on various issues between the two governments.
The “study team” will visit Guangzhou and Beijing to interact with Communist Party of China leaders and cadres from grassroots level to the politburo and the Central Committee.
The study team will also visit the political school of CPC and attend meetings with the Indian Consulate General at Guangzhou and the Indian ambassador in Beijing.
The delegation will submit a detailed report to BJP President Amit Shah on its return.
Interestingly, a CPC delegation is expected to attend an international conference on India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, being organised by the Congress next week.