Overview
- Rahul Gandhi alleged the Centre advises foreign visitors not to meet the Leader of the Opposition, calling it a break with convention observed under Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.
- Government and MEA sources rejected the charge, stating meetings outside the official programme are arranged by visiting delegations, not by the Indian government.
- To counter the allegation, officials cited recent LoP engagements with visiting leaders including Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon and Mauritius’s Navinchandra Ramgoolam.
- Congress said Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited to the official Putin banquet, even as party MP Shashi Tharoor confirmed he was invited and would attend, drawing internal criticism.
- BJP figures called Rahul Gandhi’s remarks factually incorrect and inappropriate, as President Vladimir Putin’s two‑day visit and the India–Russia summit focus on defence ties, insulating trade and cooperation on small modular reactors.