'Discretion of delegation': Government counters Rahul Gandhi on LoP–visitor meetings claim; names dignitaries who met him

NEW DELHI: Government sources on Thursday refuted Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Centre does not allow opposition to meet foreign dignitaries.

In its response, it said that during any official visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) facilitates meetings for the visiting dignitary with Government officials and designated Government bodies. Any engagements outside the Government framework are organised at the discretion of the visiting delegation.




The sources also noted that since Rahul Gandhi assumed office as Leader of the Opposition on June 9 2024, several foreign leaders have met him. These include former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 10 2024; Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on August 21 2024; Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam on September 16 2025; and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on March 8 2025.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi's big charge amid Putin's India visit; cites Vajpayee–Manmohan era

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, also reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, accused him of “misleading the public” and said his claim showed a “lack of understanding of diplomatic protocol.” She added that foreign leaders “meet whoever they wish,” and alleged Rahul Gandhi was “playing victim for attention.”

BJP's Aparajita Sarangi also called the allegeation "ridiculous". "Nothing can be more ridiculous than this. They should rise above the politics of allegations and counter-allegations and work for the people... The Russian President is coming to India, in such a situation, the Leader of Opposition should welcome him, and should not come before everyone with such negative thinking at this time. In our government, there is a feeling of respect and equality for everyone... The Leader of Opposition should behave with dignity," she said.

This comes ahead of Putin's highly anticipated visit to India, as Rahul alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity". "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. 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. LoP provides a second perspective; we also represent India, but the government doesn't want us to meet foreign dignitaries. PM Modi and the foreign ministry do not follow this now because of insecurity," he said.

Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor backed Rahul Gandhi's concern that the LoP gets barred from meeting visiting dignitaries in Modi-led Centre, saying the government "should respond."
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