Rahul Gandhi Accuses Centre of Blocking His Meetings With Foreign Leaders, Cites “Insecurity”

By A Staff Reporter

Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the Central government of deliberately preventing him from meeting visiting foreign leaders, including during the ongoing visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gandhi said the practice marks a departure from long-standing democratic traditions followed by previous governments.

“Generally, the tradition has been that whoever visits India, the LoP used to have a meeting. It used to happen in the Vajpayee government, the Manmohan Singh government. But this is not the case now,” he told reporters. He claimed that during his own foreign visits, he has been informed that officials advised dignitaries against meeting him. “Whenever I visit abroad, they suggest that those people shouldn’t meet the LoP. People told us we have been informed not to meet the LoP,” he said.

Gandhi argued that the Leader of Opposition provides an important alternate perspective in a democracy and represents a significant section of the Indian populace. “We also represent India, but the government doesn't want us to meet foreign dignitaries,” he said. He alleged that the decision reflects “insecurity” on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs.