Meeting Between US Lawmakers, Rahul Gandhi Unlikely; 'Conveyed Requests to MEA' Says Ro Khanna
US Congressperson Ro Khanna said that the delegation's meetings were subject to clearance from the Indian foreign ministry.
New Delhi: A group of US lawmakers on a visit to India had requested a meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi but with no indication that the Ministry of External Affairs – which clears all appointments for official visitors – plans to schedule an interaction, the meeting is unlikely to take place.
The eight-member US Congressional delegation arrived last week in India for a visit to Mumbai and New Delhi. They attended the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort where Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his customary speech. They also met with external affairs minister S Jaishankar at Hyderabad House, and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before leaving on schedule on Wednesday night.
In an interview to India Today, US Congressperson Ro Khanna said that the delegation’s meetings were subject to clearance from the Indian foreign ministry.
In answer to a question about whether he would like to meeting Rahul Gandhi, Khanna said, “I and the entire delegation are a guest of the Prime Minister and the foreign ministry. It is for them to arrange that. I know that people have wanted to meet with the delegation, and I have conveyed those requests to the foreign ministry and would defer to their judgement. They have been incredibly gracious to us and have set up tremendous meetings. I want to respect that.”
Later, while speaking with the TV channel, senior Congress party official Praveen Chakravarty said that a “few member of the US Congressmen delegation reached out to us over the last two days” to seek a “private meeting” with Rahul Gandhi.
While the Congress had agreed to any such meeting, Chakravarty added, “we asked them to make a formal and official request for the delegation to meet with Mr. Gandhi”.
He noted that the MEA should not have objected if a visiting delegation sought a meeting with the principal leader of the Opposition in a democracy.
When asked by The Wire whether a green light was given to a request for a meeting between the visiting congressional leaders and Gandhi, the MEA refused to comment.
On his Twitter account, Khanna, a Democrat from San Francisco, shared the news report about the US delegation seeking a meeting with Gandhi.
He also batted criticism about meeting with a right-wing columnist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, who had previously assailed his colleagues Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib for boycotting Modi’s speech in Washington. “Please see the totality of my trip, including meeting with activists and speaking out on issues,” he replied.
To another similar critical tweet, he wrote, “You should wait until all the meetings we have had and conversations are public to make a final judgment. We have done a lot you will see to strengthen the relationship and advance democratic values”.
Khanna also wrote that Mitra had “ sharply criticised my grandfather (see his past posts on me) and we met so I could stand up for my grandfather legacy as a freedom fighter. Gandhi had a philosophy of engaging with almost anyone – including British colonisers,” he added.
The democrat lawmaker also wrote on Twitter that he met with “victims of Manipur and in Haryana”. He also claimed that the interlocutors on Manipur wanted it to be private, while “others” will be writing about the meeting with Muslim leaders.
After the delegation had departed from India, activist Tushar Gandhi tweeted about meeting with Representative Khanna in Mumbai. He also mentioned in a series of tweet that Khanna had also “met Umer Khalid’s father and representatives from violence ravaged Manipur”. Khalid, a former JNU student leader, completes three years in jail next month. He has been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly instigating the 2020 Delhi riots.
(1 of 4) I met with US Congressman @RoKhanna in Mumbai. I briefed him about situation in India, the nation’s plunge into an abyss of hate, divisiveness & violence. He I believe wanted to meet the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi who he says is his inspiration. pic.twitter.com/jSjhqbaR1a
— Tushar GANDHI (@TusharG) August 16, 2023
Before his arrival in India, Khanna had met with US-based civil rights groups and assured them that he would raise human rights concerns during his trip.
While speaking to Bloomberg on August 9, Khanna added that he respected his colleagues who boycotted the speech. During the India trip, he wanted to convey the importances of pluralism and respecting minority rights.
“I think one can have two views that aren’t contradictory − that India is a very important partner, a very important democracy and yet that it’s imperfect and that we have to be aspirational in making sure it’s pluralistic and respects minority rights as it’s proved to its founding ideal in a way that America is trying to live up to our founding ideals,” he said.