Shashi Tharoor Lands President's Banquet Invite for Putin as Rahul Gandhi Cries Foul

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has been invited to the President’s banquet in New Delhi on Friday evening in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a two-day visit to India. The invitation comes amid political controversy following allegations by Rahul Gandhi that the Centre discouraged meetings between Putin and leaders of opposition parties.

Rahul Gandhi, speaking outside Parliament, described the exclusion of the Opposition from such interactions as a result of government "insecurity." He highlighted that traditionally, visiting foreign dignitaries meet the Leader of Opposition (LoP), citing examples from the governments of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.

Gandhi stated, “We represent India as well, not just the government. The LoP provides a different perspective, which foreign dignitaries should hear. It is concerning that the current government does not follow this norm.” He reiterated that these actions appear to systematically block Opposition access to visiting leaders.

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Responding to the claims, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ANI that meetings outside official government channels are at the discretion of the visiting delegation. “During a visit, the MEA organises meetings with government officials and bodies. It is up to the visiting delegation to schedule meetings beyond this,” the sources clarified.

The MEA also noted that Opposition leaders have met visiting dignitaries in the past, including former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Ching, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam, and Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon, demonstrating precedent for such interactions.

The invitation of Shashi Tharoor instead of Rahul Gandhi has reignited debate over political protocol and the role of opposition leaders in diplomatic engagements, highlighting ongoing tensions between the government and opposition parties in India’s foreign policy narrative.

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