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Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday countered BJP leaders' denial of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations that the government prevents him from meeting visiting foreign dignitaries.
"Then why aren't they letting us meet now?" Priyanka said after taking part in the meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on One Nation One Election. Priyanka's remarks come amid an ongoing political exchange, with the Congress accusing the Centre of undermining democratic norms and restricting the Opposition's engagement with international delegates. This comes after Rahul Gandhi accused the centre of suggesting that the foreign dignitaries not meet the LoP. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said it was tradition under former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh for the LoP to meet foreign dignitaries. The Congress MP said, "This has been a tradition. But these days, foreign dignitaries visit, or when I visit abroad, the government suggests that they not meet the LoP. This is their policy, and they do it all the time." BJP MP Anil Baluni posted on X, accusing the Congress MP of telling lies. "Rahul Gandhi ji, please don't tell such a blatant lie. In just the past year or year and a half, you have met at least five foreign guests/heads of state. These pictures can't be fake, can they, Rahul Gandhi ji!. Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina ji: 10 June, 2024, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim ji: 21 August, 2024, Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam ji: 16 September, 2025, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon ji: 8 March, 2025 and LOP also met the PM of Vietnam on 1 August 2024," Baluni claimed. "The facts given above clearly show, Rahul Gandhi ji, that you are simply and solely lying. However, whenever you go to foreign soil, you always end up tarnishing the image of India, India's democracy, and India's Constitution," the BJP MP said. He also stressed that during any visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) organises meetings for the visitors with government officials. (ANI)
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