Rahul meets diplomats, says united in fighting terror

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reached out to diplomats from G-20 nations and some neighbouring countries to present his political agenda for the nation.

The top Congress leadership including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former union ministers Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, M M Pallam Raju engaged with Ambassadors and High Commissioners from the US, Canada, Britain, China as well as the neighbourhood— Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka.

Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood was not invited for the luncheon meeting that took place at the Taj Mansingh hotel here.

Rahul made it clear to the diplomats that the Congress was committed and united in carrying forward the fight against terrorism.

The meeting was earlier scheduled for February 15, but was postponed after the terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14.

“We discussed a wide range of issues & are united in our fight against the scourge of terrorism. I enjoyed the exchange of perspectives & ideas & look forward to continuing our dialogue,” Rahul said on Twitter.

Chinese Ambassador Lu Zhaohui also shared photographs of the luncheon meeting on Twitter saying he was “glad” to meet the Congress leadership.

Briefing reporters, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma described the meeting as a “meaningful engagement” where global, regional, political and economic matters” were discussed.

The Congress president also shared his party's vision, including its economic and industrial policies, for the revival of the agriculture sector and jobs creation, ahead of general elections, Sharma said.

“When you have such a meeting, then every issue on the globe will be discussed whether it is the economic slowdowns, whether it is the jobs, political issues. Yes, terrorism did figure,” he said.

Senior diplomats including former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon also attended the meeting.