New Delhi : Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the government of systematically keeping opposition leaders away from visiting foreign dignitaries. Gandhi, speaking ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in New Delhi, argued that the Opposition’s meetings with foreign delegations were a long-standing parliamentary norm.
It used to happen during the governments of Vajpayee ji and Manmohan Singh ji. This has been a tradition. But these days, when foreign dignitaries visit or when I travel abroad, the government advises them not to meet the LoP. We, too, represent India. It is not just the government. He said both the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Ministry routinely steer visiting delegations away from the Opposition, calling it an act driven by ‘insecurity’.
Rahul Gandhi’s allegation came as Putin is scheduled to land in Delhi around 4.30 pm today. PM Modi will host him for a private dinner shortly after arrival, a reciprocal gesture after Putin hosted PM Modi in Moscow last year. Their formal talks on Friday will focus on expanding defence cooperation, protecting India-Russia trade from external pressure, and exploring collaboration in small modular nuclear reactors, all unfolding against a notable downturn in India’s ties with the United States.
These ties go back even longer.Exactly 70 years ago the top two leaders of the USSR came to India. Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev were here for an extraordinary 19 days: from November 18 to 30, 1955, and again from Dec 7 to 14, 1955. This followed Jawaharlal Nehru’s journey to the USSR six months earlier, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said.
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