Banner welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin to India (L) and Rahul Gandhi (R).
Credit: PTI photos
New Delhi: Hours ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin landing in India for a two-day visit to India, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday found fault with the Modi government for not scheduling a meeting between the Leader of Opposition and the visiting dignitary, claiming that it is “insecurity” that is prompting the dispensation to do so.
Rahul said it is a long-held tradition that the Leader of Opposition meets a visiting dignitary but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm, as he claimed that the government has been telling other countries not to meet him in India when they visit India or when he goes abroad.
"The tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition. This used to happen during (AB) Vajpayee's time, Manmohan Singh's time 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,” he told reporters in Parliament House complex.
“This is their policy and they do it all the time. We get the message that they have been told that the government has said ‘not to meet you’,” he said.
When referred to the Russian President's visit, he said India has relations with everyone and the Leader of the Opposition gives a different perspective.
“We too represent India. It is not just the government which does it. The government doesn't want the Opposition to meet people coming from outside. Modi-ji and the Foreign Ministry don't follow this,” he said. Queried why the government does so, he said, “it is their insecurity.”
Senior MP and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said it is a protocol that visiting dignitaries meet the LoP.
"All the policies of this government are based on one principle -- they want to capture everything, do not let other voices be heard, don't want to hear other people and are breaking protocols. Every democracy has a protocol which should be followed," she told reporters.
She claimed that the government is "very insecure" and not scheduling a meeting between the Leader of the Opposition and the Russian President is a reflection of it. "When dignitaries come, they meet the Leader of the Opposition, this is protocol. So what is the need to break that protocol?" he added.