BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who had last month dubbed former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi a "Muslim commissioner", on Sunday said the government's decision to include him and his political rival Asaduddin Owaisi in the same diplomatic delegation showed the "most beautiful face of democracy".

Dubey and AIMIM chief Owaisi, two firebrand and polarising faces from the opposite sides of the political divide, are part of a delegation that will travel to Muslim countries later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.

"I am grateful to honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing me to travel to Muslim countries and talk about Pakistan's actions and India's 78-year struggle against terrorism," Dubey posted on X. "The most beautiful face of democracy is that Mr Owaisi and I will together talk about Indian democracy and the respect and dignity Muslims get in India."

The delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, will also include BJP's Phangnon Koynak and Rekha Sharma and Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh. It will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria.

Owaisi and Dubey have often taken swipes at each other inside and outside Parliament. Last month, Owaisi had called Dubey a "tubelight" for attacking the Supreme Court over its judgment setting a deadline for the President and governors to clear bills passed by the legislature twice.

Both were also part of the parliamentary panel assigned to scrutinise the Waqf Amendment Bill. While Dubey had supported the bill, Owaisi had opposed it.

The choice of Dubey to argue India's position on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism before Muslim countries came as a shock to many.

Dubey, the four-term MP from Jharkhand's Godda, has often courted controversy with his hate-spurred attacks on political rivals.

Last month, he had launched a communal attack on Quraishi. "You were not an election commissioner, you were a Muslim commissioner. The maximum number of Bangladeshi infiltrators were made voters in Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand during your tenure," Dubey had posted on X, reacting to Quraishi's slamming of the Waqf Act as a "blatantly sinister, evil plan of the government to grab Muslim land".

The overall composition of the other six diplomatic delegations travelling to world capitals has also raised eyebrows. Many veteran leaders have been placed in teams led by junior leaders.

Two Congress stalwarts — Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari — have been put in the team led by NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule. This delegation will visit Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia and South Africa. Another Congress veteran, Salman Khurshid, is part of a team led by JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha. It will visit Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Singapore.