Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned as the chairman of the party’s foreign affairs department to help in its reconstitution and enable bringing in a younger leadership. After tendering his resignation, Sharma said the department was not being consulted on important issues related to foreign affairs. The former Union minister led the department for around a decade.“As I have conveyed earlier, both to CP (Mallikarjun Kharge) and Chairperson CPP (Sonia Gandhi), in my considered view, the committee needs to be reconstituted to bring in younger leaders of potential and promise. That will ensure continuity in its functioning. Expressing my gratitude to the party leadership for having entrusted me with this responsibility, I am submitting my resignation as Chairman DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to facilitate its reconstitution,” Sharma said in his resignation letter to Congress president Kharge.Sharma, a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), has been the Congress’s most prominent face on international affairs for almost four decades. He also played a pivotal role in the negotiations of the Indo-US nuclear deal. He was also instrumental in institutionalising the India-Africa partnership in a structured manner and convening the first India-Africa summit.Sharma had travelled to South Africa, Egypt, Qatar and Ethiopia as a member of the all-party delegations that went abroad to convey India’s message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor. Sharma had also articulated India’s position to the world after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.He was a prominent member of the G-23 group of Congress leaders who wrote to then party president Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking organisational reforms in the party.In his letter, Sharma said the DFA has, over the last few decades, been actively engaged in building and strengthening the Congress’s relations with like-minded political parties across the world, which share the values of democracy, equality and human rights.He said the Congress has built strong relations with major political parties in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and Latin America.Story continues below this adSpeaking to The Indian Express Sunday evening, Sharma said he had conveyed it to the party high command that there was a need to reconstitute the department. “Some people of the department have moved away, and some have other assignments. It is time for change and bring in the next generation of people. My services will remain available to share my experience in anchoring the new team,” said Sharma.“The department is a very important one. When you take any decision concerning foreign affairs, there has to be consultation and what is to be spoken. Similarly, if there is a delegation going abroad, or if there is a debate in Parliament, there should be consultation with the department about the party line. For some time that has been missing. We have seen the BJP has been very aggressive,” said Sharma.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:anand sharmaCongress Working Committee