Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday hit back at BJP leaders’ denial of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that the government prevents her from meeting foreign dignitaries. “Then why are they not letting us meet now?”, Priyanka said after attending the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on One Nation One Election.
Priyanka’s comments come at a time when the political turmoil continues, with the Congress accusing the Center of weakening democratic norms and limiting the opposition’s engagement with international delegates. This came after Rahul Gandhi accused the Center of suggesting that foreign dignitaries should not meet the opposition leader.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said that during the tenure of former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, it was a tradition for the leader of the opposition to meet foreign dignitaries.
The Congress MP said, “It has been a tradition. But these days, when foreign dignitaries come, or when I go abroad, the government suggests them not to meet the Leader of the Opposition. This is their policy, and they always do that.” BJP MP Anil Baluni posted on Twitter and accused the Congress MP of lying.
Baluni claimed, “Rahul Gandhi ji, please do not tell such a big lie. In the last one-and-a-half year alone, you have met at least five foreign guests/heads of state. These pictures cannot be fake, Rahul Gandhi ji! Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina ji: June 10, 2024, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim ji: 21 August, 2024, Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam ji: September 16, 2025, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Ji: March 8, 2025 and the Leader of the Opposition also met the Prime Minister of Vietnam on August 1, 2024.”
“Rahul Gandhi ji, the above facts clearly show that you are completely lying. However, whenever you visit foreign soil, you always tarnish the image of India, India’s democracy and the Constitution of India,” the BJP MP said. He also stressed that during any visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) organizes meetings with government officials for the visitors.
