Govt stops foreign dignitaries from meeting LoP, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the Government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its “insecurity”.  His remarks came hours ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to India.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.

“Normally, the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji’s time, Manmohan Singh ji’s time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the Government suggests to them to not meet the LoP,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters in Parliament House complex.

“This is their policy, they do this every time. They do it when I go abroad and when people come here. We get the message that they have been told that the Government has said ‘not to meet you’,” the former Congress president.

Highlighting the importance of such meetings, he said the LoP gives another perspective.  “We also represent India, only the Government does not represent India. The Government does not want that opposition leaders to meet foreign leaders. This is a tradition (visiting foreign dignitaries meeting LoP), a norm, but Modi ji does not follow this norm, the foreign ministry does not follow this norm,” Rahul Gandhi said without naming Putin. Asked why the Government was doing so, he said, “It is their insecurity”.

BJP Rejects Rahul Gandhi's Claim on Foreign Dignitaries Meeting LoP

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday dismissed as a “blatant lie” Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the Government does not let foreign dignitaries meet him, the Leader of Opposition, saying he had met many foreign guests, including the prime ministers of New Zealand and Mauritius, this year.

In a social media post, BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni shared pictures of Rahul Gandhi from meetings with these foreign dignitaries and said, “During any visit, MEA organises meetings for the visiting dignitary with Government officials and Government bodies.”

He added, “Organising meetings outside the Government depends on the visiting delegation.”

The rebuttal came after Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its “insecurity.”

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm. Baluni, a Lok Sabha MP, said Rahul Gandhi had met at least five foreign guests, including heads of state, in just one and a half years.

He said Rahul Gandhi met former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on June 10, 2024, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim on August 21, 2024, Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam on September 16, 2025 and Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon on March 8, 2025.

“The LOP also met the PM of Vietnam on August 1, 2024,” Baluni said, posting pictures of the Congress leader meeting these foreign dignitaries on X.

Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi were present with Rahul at some of these meetings, the pictures shared by the BJP leader show.

“These pictures can’t be fake, Rahul Gandhi ji,” Baluni said, adding, the photographs proved that the LoP is “simply lying.” “However, whenever you go to foreign soil, you always end up tarnishing the image of India, India’s democracy, and India’s Constitution,” Baluni charged.